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A  UTHOR: 


SCHMITZ,  LEONHARD 


TITLE: 


HISTORY  OF 
FOR  JUNIOR  CLASSES 

PLACE: 

NEW  YORK 

DA  TE: 

[pref .  1 874] 


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A  history  of  Greece  for  jtinior  classes »  by  Loor> 
hard  Sohmltz...  Txith  on  Appendix  giving  a  sketch 
of  the  history  fron  the  Roman  conquest  to  the  pres* 
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HISTORY   or   GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE 


FOR 


JUNIOR  CLASSES, 


BY 


LEONHARD  SCHMITZ,  LL.D., 

CLA.SSiCAL  EXAMINER  IN   TUE    UNIVEKSITY   OF  LONDON. 


WITH  AN  APPENDIX, 

GIVING    A   SKETCH   OF   THK   HISTOHY   FKOM    THE   ROMAX   CONQUEST 

TO    THE    PRESENT    DAY. 

BY  A.  GENNADIOS, 

LA.XE   rR0F£>>2iOH  IN   THE   UMVEKSITY  OF  ATUENa 


NEW     YORK: 

G.     P.     PUTNAM'S     SONS, 

27  AND  29  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET. 


-^ 


PREFACE. 


The  Histoiy  of  Greece  here  offered  to  tlie  public  is 
intended  as  an  introduction  to  the  excellent  larger  works 
which  are  the  pride  of  English  scholarship. 

I  have  introduced  a  novelty  which  will  be  justified,  I 
hope,  by  the  more  correct  views  now  entertained  in 
regard  to  the  two  great  nations  of  antiquity.  In  all  the 
school  histories  of  Greece  hitherto  published,  the  Greek 
divinities  are  called  by  the  names  given  to  them  by  the 
Romans.  This  practice  has  led  to  an  utter  confusion  of 
the  religions  of  the  two  nations,  which,  in  many  respects, 
were  totally  different.  The  Romans  may  indeed  be 
excused  for  identifying  their  gods  with  those  of  Greece 
and  other  nations,  but  I  can  see  no  reason  why  we  should 
follow  their  example.  I  have,  therefore,  called  the  Greek 
gods  by  their  Greek  names;  and  wherever  the  Roman 

'  name  presents  any  material  difference,  I  have  added  it 
in  brackets.     The  same  system  has  been  followed  in  re- 

^^d  to  other  proper  names :  as  the  Greek  language  has ' 


l^no  c,  the  Greek  letter  k  has  been  retained;  and  in- 
N.  stead  of  the  Latin  termination  us,  I  have  given  the 
S?  Greek  os.  It  would,  however,  be  mere  pedantry  rigor- 
£3  ously  to  apply  the  same  rule  to  all  proper  names,  for  in 
^'  the  case  of  some  the  Roman  form,  either  in  its  entirety 


'■:?■ 
|C\i 


6 


PREFACE. 


I 


or  in  an  abridged  shape,  has  almost  become  a  part  of  the 
English  language  itself.  The  same  system,  I  am  glad  to 
find,  has  been  adopted  in  some  of  the  larger  recent 
Histories  of  Greece. 

A  brief  sketch  has  been  added,  to  continue  the  history 
of  Greece  from  its  conquest  by  the  Romans,  in  b.c.  146, 
to  the  accession  of  King  George  in  1862.  This  addition 
seemed  almost  necessary,  as  the  Greek  nation,  though 
conquered  and  subdued  by  foreigners,  has  always  con- 
tinued to  exist,  and  still  exists,  speaking  essentially  the 
same  language  as  their  forefathers,  2000  years  ago.  Their 
history  during  that  long  period  of  subjugation  is  very 
instructive  in  more  ways  than  one ;  for  they  never  ceased 
to  struggle  for  the  recovery  of  their  freedom,  until  in  the 
end  they  gained  the  rewards  of  their  unceasing  and 
patriotic  exertions  and  sacrifices.  If  the  nation  at  pre- 
sent seems  in  some  respects  to  have  degenerated,  we 
ought  not  on  that  account  to  withhold  from  it  our  sym- 
pathies and  admiration,  for  such  must  always  be  the 
result  if  a  people  has  for  a  long  period  been  subjected  to 
a  cruel  and  tyrannical  rule  like  that  of  the  Turks.  But 
time,  a  wise  government,  and  the  enjoyment  of  libei-ty, 
will,  it  is  hoped,  ere  long  raise  the  gifted  people  of  Greece 
to  a  position  worthy  of  their  illustrious  ancestors,  to 
whom  all  civilised  nations  ai*e  more  deeply  indebted  than 
to  any  other. 

L.S. 

London,  August  1874. 


CONTENTS. 


iNTRODUCTrON, 


PAGIE 

•  ■  •  •  •  .9 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Mythical  or  Legendary  Period,    .  ...      14 

CHAPTER  IL 
State  of  Civilisation  during  the  Heroic  Age,  .  ,  .21 

CHAPTER  IIL 

From  the  Trojan  Times  to  the  Conquest  of  Messenia  by  the 

Spartans, .......       26 

CHAPTER  IV. 
History  of  Athens  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  Persian  Wars,      39 

CHAPTER  V. 

National  Institutions  —  Colonies  —  Literature  down  to  the 

Persian  Wars,      ......      52 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Persian  Wars  down  to  the  Establishment  of  the  Supre- 
macy of  Athens,  .  ,  ,  ,  ,  .68 


CHAPTER  VIL 

The  Supremacy  of  Athens  down  to  the  commencement  of  the 
Peloponnesian  War,         .... 


•  »      75 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Peloponnesian  War,         .  .  .  ,  ^      83 

CHAPTER  IX. 

From  the  Close  of  the  Peloponnesian  War  to  the  Peace  of 
Autulkidas,  .  ,  .  .  ,  .101 


H 


1^ 


8 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  X.  PAG. 

From  the  Peace  of  Antalkidas  to  the  Battle  of  Chaeroneia,     .    109 

CHAPTER  XL 
Greece  during  the  Reign  of  Alexander  the  Great,        ,  .     121 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Greece  under  the  Successors  of  Alexander  until  the  Time  of 

the  Acheean  League,         .  .  .  .  .130 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

From  the  Formation  of  the  Achsean  League  down  to  the 

Conquest  of  Greece  by  the  Romans,  .  ,  ,     130 


i«  *»    •  4 


—  *■•»•    ... 


flEAD  OT  THE  OLYMPIAN  ZEUi 


niSTOEY   OP    GKEECE. 


i\ 


i\ 


i    '. 


APPENDIX 

GIVING  A 

SKETCH  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  GREECE, 

FROM   B.  C.  146  TO   THE  ACCESSION   OF   KING   GEORGE,  1862. 


CHAPTER  L 
Greece  under  the  Romans  (b.c.  146  to  a.d.  324), 

CHAPTER  IL 
The  Byzantine  Empire,  from  330  to  1453,      ,  , 

CHAPTER  III. 
Greece  under  the  Turks,  from  1453  to  1821,  .  , 

CHAPTER  ly. 
Restoration  of  the  Greek  Nation,  from  1821  to  1862, 


Index, 


.     148 


.     153 


.     161 


.     170 


•     195 


INTRODUCTIOlSr. 

The  first  people  we  meet  with  at  the  very  threshold  of 
Eiiropean  history  are  the  Greeks,  or,  as  they  called  them- 
selves, Hellenes,  occupying  the  south-eastern  peninsula  of 
our  Contment.     At  the  time  when  they  first  appear  in 
history,  they  were  not  yet  known  by  any  name  common 
to  them  all,  each  tribe  having  its  own  special  name  :  and 
It  was  not  till  between  800  and  700  years  b.c.  that  the 
name  Hellenes  was  applied  to  the  whole  nation,  extend- 
ing trom  the  Cambunian  mountains  in  the  noi-th  to  the 
southern  extremity,  and  over  the  adjacent  islands.     In 
the  earliest  times  the  greater  part  of  the   country  wa^ 
inhabited  by  a  race  called  the  Felasgians,  of  whom  a  m-eat 
deal  has  been  written,  but  very  little  is  known.    It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  they  were  not  materially  dififerent  from 
tne  Hellenes,  and  belonged  to  the  same  mce  as  they,  for 
in  the  course  of  time,  and  without  any  wars  or  violent 
commotions,  we  find  them  united  with  the  Hellenes  into 
one  nation,  speaking  everywhere  essentially  the  same  lan- 
guage, and  entertaining  essentially  the  same  views  about 


10 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


11 


11 


their  cods.  Tlie  clifTerences  in  this  respect  appearing  in 
the  difiereat  oarts  of  the  country,  so  far  as  the  language 
is  concerned,  were  only  of  ^  dialectical  nature;  and  in  like 
manner,  though  cci-ie  x)f  their  gods  were  worshipped  in 
one  district  more  particularly  than  in  othera,  yet  all  wero 

recognised  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

This  nation  of  the  Hellenes  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able, if  not  the  most  remarkable,  among  the  civilised 
peoples  of  the  earth,  and  has  exercised  both  on  contem- 
porary nations  and  upon  posterity  an  influence  which  it 
is  scarcely  possible  to  over-estimate.  They  were  endowed 
by  nature  with  the  rarest  qualities  both  of  mind  and 
body ;  their  minds  were  ever  active  and  striving  to  im- 
prove upon  what  they  had  already  attained;  they  at- 
tempted to  solve  the  loftiest  problems  in  religion,  philo- 
sophy, art,  and  literature ;  they  never  rested  satisfied 
with  what  they  had  achieved,  but  were  ever  eager  to 
advance  and  improve.  Nothing  was  stationary  with 
them,  and  although  they  disdained  everything  that  was 
foreign,  which  they  called  barbarous,  yet  they  never 
scrupled  to  adopt  whatever  they  found  useful  or  beneficial 
among  the  barbarians,  and  so  to  assimilate  it  as  to  give  it 
the  stamp  of  their  own  character  and  genius.  They  did 
not,  indeed,  always  succeed  in  their  lofty  aspirations  after 
perfection,  for  in  their  religion  they  did  not  arrive  at  the 
idea  of  one  God  as  the  creator  and  preserver  of  the  uni- 
verse ;  in  their  philosophy  they  at  once  boldly  grappled 
with  the  highest  problems,  which  even  yet  are  awaiting 
theii*  solution  ;  and  in  theii-  love  of  freedom  they  passed 
through  all  the  constitutional  changes  from  royalty  to  a 
wild  and  unbridled  democi-acy,  until  their  political  life 
was  extinguished  by  the  overwhelming  power  of  Rome. 
But  in  the  arts  and  literature,  they  attained  an  eminence 

which  has  never  been  surpassed  and  hardly  equalled.  The 
Greeks,  therefore,  are  a  noble  example  of  what  human  in- 
genuity and  perseverance  can  accomplish,  and  that,  too,  at  a 
oeriod  when  the  best  part  of  the  human  race  may  be  said 
to  have  been  still  in  its  infancy.  They  have,  moreover,  de- 
veloped a  language  which,  by  its  beauty,  subtlety,  and  flexi- 


bility, is  capable  of  expressing  the  most  delicate  shades  of 
human  thought,  and  still  commands  universal  admiration 
We  naturally  ask.  Who  were  these  Hellenes  1  When 
and  whence  did  they  come  into  Europe  ?  Their  own 
belief  in  later  times  was  that  they  had  sprung  from  the 
soil  on  which  they  lived ;  nay,  some  of  them  maintained 
that  they  were  older  than  the  moon— so  completely  had 
they  forgotten  their  origin  and  their  past  history.  But 
their  language  and  their  religious  ideas  incontrovertibly 
shovr  that  they  were  a  branch  of  the  great  Aryan  family 

ot  nations,  which  also  includes  the  Hindoos,  Persians,  Ar- 
menians, Italians,  Sclavonians,  Germans,  and  Kelts     The 
Greek  language,  not  only  in  its  roots,  but  even  in  its  in- 
flections, bears  a  more  or  less  close  resemblance  to  the 
languages  of  the  nations  just  enumerated,  and  thus  proves 
that  they  are  all  descended  from  one  common  stock     All 
cu-cumstances  confirm  the  now  universal  belief  that  they 
immigrated  into  Europe  from  Asia,  and  descended  into 
the  peninsula  of  Greece  from  the  north.       When  this 
immigration  took  place  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain ;  but 
It  we  may  venture  a  guess,  it  would  seem  that  the  time 
ot  their  arrival  in  Europe  may  be  fixed  at  about  2000 
years  before  the  Christian  era. 

The  nearest  kinsmen  of  the  Hellenes  were  the  inhabit 
ants  of  the  greater  part  of  Italy— that  is,  those  Italians 
who  spoke  Latin,  or  a  dialect  of  Latin,  for  the  resemblance 
between  the  Latm  and  the  Greek  languages  is  so  great  and 
so  strikmg  that  we  are  forced  to  suppose  that  the  nations 
speaking  them  formed  at  one  time  only  one  people  which 
afterwards  broke  up  into  two  branches,  one  occupying 
the  penmsula  of  Greece,  and  the  other  that  of  Italy  and 
in  each  coimtry  they  again  became  divided  into  a  number 
of  tribes  speaking  diflerent  dialects.  The  country  occu- 
pied  by  the  Hellenes,  Hellas  or  Greece,  is  very  small 
and  on  the  whole,  mountainous,  but  it  contains  some  very 
tertile  plams.  It  has  scarcely  any  navigable  river,  but 
to  compensate  for  this,  the  country  abounds  in  excellent 
bays  and  harbours,  facilitating  the  intercourse  with  the 
islands  and  coasts  of  the   Mediterranean.     When  they 


12 


HISTORY   OF    GREECE. 


Started  from  their  original  home,  which  must  have  been 
somewhere  about  the  north-west  of  India,  they,  of  course, 
took  with  them  not  only  their  language  and  religion,  but 

all  those  elements  of  civilisation  which  had  already  been 
attained  in  their  ancient  common  home.    What  that  civili- 
sation was,  is  revealed  to  us  by  a  comparison  of  the  kin- 
dred languages,  and  this  comparison  altogether  dispels  the 
idea  entertained  by  ancient  and  some  modern  historians, 
that  the  Greeks  on  their  first  appearance  in  Europe  were 
savages,  living  in  caves,  feeding  upon  acorns,  and  devoid 
of  any  knowledge  of  agriculture  or  the  breeding  of  cattle. 
A  great  variety  of  words  expressive  of  a  state  of  things 
far  above  that  of  the  savage  are  common  to  the  Greeks 
and  their  kinsmen  who  remained  in  their  Asiatic  home, 
a  clear  proof  that  a  considerable  degree  of  civilisation  had 
already  been  attained  before  the  Greeks  separated  and 
entered  upon  their  westward  migration. 

There   was  a   time   when   it  was   believed  that  the 
Hellenes   had  received    their   civilisation   from    foreign 
immigrants.     Thus  Kekrops  was  believed  to  have  come 
from  Egypt  and  to  have  built  the  Kekropia,  the  akro- 
polis  or  citadel  of  Athens ;  Kadmos,  a  Phoenician  prince 
who  set  out  in  search  of  his  sister  who  had  been  carried 
off,  was  supposed   to  have   arrived  in  Boeotia,  and  to 
have  founded  there  the  Kadmeia,  the  akropolis  of  Thebes; 
Danaos,  with  his  fifty  daughters,  was  believed  to  have 
taken  refuge  in  Hellas  to  escape  from  the  vengeance  of 
his  brother  ^gyptos,  and  to  have  given   the  name  of 
Danai  to  a  portion  of  the  Hellenic  people ;  and  Pelops, 
lastly,  a  son  of  Tantalos,  was  said  to  have  come  from 
Phrygia  or  Lydia  in  Asia  Minor,  to  have  taken  posses- 
sion of  a  part  of  the  southern  peninsula  of  Hellas,  and  to 
have  given  it  its  name  of  Peloponnesus,  that  is,   the 
island   of  Pelops.       But   most  of  these  stories  can  be 
shown  to  have  originated  in  Hellas  itself,  and  some  of 
them  seem  to  have  owed  their  currency  either  to  the 
vanity  of  foreign  nations,  such  as  the  Egyptians,  who 

claimed  a  share  in  the  civilisation  of  the  Hellenes  ;  or,  as 
in  the  case  of  Pelops,  the  story  may  have  originated  in 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


13 


some  vague  and  dim  recollection  of  an  ancient  connection 
between   Hellas   and   Asia  Minor.      The  legend  about 
Kadmos  alone  seems  to  have  been  founded  upon  some- 
thing more  substantial ;  for  it  is  well  attested  that  at  a 
very  early  period,   Phoenicians  visited  the  islands  and 
coasts  of  Hellas  both  as  traders  and  as  pirates,  and  tradi- 
tion IS  unanimous  in  stating  that  the  art  of  writing  was 
introduced  into  Hellas  by  Phoenicians.     It  would  iSdeed 
be  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  Hellenes  were  not  influ- 
enced at  all  by  the  nations  round  about  them,  for  no 
nation  can  remain  completely  isolated  without  injury  to 
itself;  but  whatever  ideas  or  institutions  either  individual 
immig^nts  or  bodies  of  immigi-ants  may  have  brought 
into  Hellas,  they  were  so  completely  altered  and  assimi- 
lated by  the  gemus  of  the  Hellenes,  that  in  the  course  of 
time   every  trace   of  their   foreign   origin   disappeared. 
Ihe  language  of  the  Hellenes  itself  contains  no  tra<?e  of 
J^gyptian  or  any  other  foreign  influence ;  their  relidon 
is  essentially  that  of  their  Aryan  kinsmen,  only  mod^ed 
and  altered  by  their  own  imagination,  when  the  real 
significance  of  their  gods  and  their  attributes  had  been 
forgotten.      The  arts  of  the  Hellenes  can  be  traced  in 
their  own  country  from  the  rudest  beginnings  to  their 
highest  development;   and  in  their  political  and  social 
institutions   there   is   nothing   that   might  point  to  an 
l^.gyptian  or  other  Semitic  origin— they  form,  in  fact,  the 
strongest  contrast  to  the  political  and  social  institutions 
of  the  Semitic  race.      In  short,  the  whole  civilisation  of 
tHe  llellenes  bears  the  unmistakable  mark  of  its  having 
orjginated  and  developed  with  the  people  itself! 


BOMER. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE   MYTHICAL  OR   LEGENDARY   PERIOD. 

This  period,  during  which  the  gods  were  supposed  to 

liave  descended  among  men,  and  personally  to  have  taken 

an  active  part  in  their  affairs,  extends  from  the  remotest 

times  to  about  B.C.  1100.      All  that  the  Greeks  them- 

.  selves  knew  about  that  period,  had  been  handed  down  by 
oral  tradition,  and  had  been  so  much  altered  and  embel- 
lished by  the  poetical  genius  of  the  nation  and  by  the 
poets  of  later  times,  that  in  most  cases  it  is  impossible  to 
say  what  may  have  been  the  real  groundwork  of  those 
ancient  stories.  But  as  they  are  not  only  constantly 
alluded  to  by  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers,  and;  In  fact, 
form  the  foundations  of  most  of  their  poetical  produc- 
tions, but  are  also  much  interwoven  with  the  poetry  of 
modern  nations,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  at  least  brief 
outlines  of  the  most  important  of  the  early  legends. 

First  in  importance  are  the  legends  of  Uerakles  (Hercules). 
Danaos,  the  supposed  immigrant  from  Egypt,  had  a  grand- 
daughter Danae,  who  became  by  Zeus  (Jupiter),  the  gi-eatest 
among  the  Hellenic  gods,  the  mother  of  Perseus,  and 
from  him  was  descended  Herakles,  a  son  of  Zeus  by 
Alkmena,  a  granddaughter  of  Perseus.  Herakles  is  the 
greatest  and  most  famous  of  all  the  mythical  heroes  of 
Hellas  :  he  was  believed  to  have  been  a  man  of  gigantic 
strength,  and  the  most  wonderful  exploits  are  ascribed  to 
him.     The  number  of  these  extraordinary  feats  is  twelve, 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


15 


but  it  seems  clear  that  the  Greeks  ascribed  to  their  gi-eat 
hero  what  can  never  have  been  the  works  of  one  man, 
even  though  he  were  a  giant,  but  must  have  been  the 
i-esults  of  the  labours  of  whole  generations  of  men  arriv- 
ing in  an  uninhabited  country,  and  having  to  contend 
with  all  manner  of  difficulties.  Thus  he  is  said  to  have 
cleft  rocks,  to  have  turned  the  courses  of  rivers,  to  have 

opened  subterraneous  outlets  of  lakes,  and  to  have  cleared 
the  country  of  wild  and  noxious  beasts.  He  is  also 
represented  as  the  protector  of  the  weak  and  helpless,  as 
the  chastiser  of  cruel  tyrants,  and  as  having  traversed 
many  foreign  lands,  where  he  achieved  equally  wonderful 
feats.  The  imagination  of  the  Greeks  raised  him  to  the 
i-ank  of  a  god,  to  whom  temples  were  erected  and  sacri- 
fices offered.  In  works  of  art  he  is  represented  as  a 
strong  muscular  man,  armed  with  a  club  and  carrying  a 
lion's  skin. 

Another  great  hero,  who  may  be  regarded  as  the 
Herakles  of  Attika,  is  TJieseus^  a  son  of  ^geus  and  ^thra, 
a  daughter  of  the  King  of  Trcezen.  The  Athenians  looked 
upon  him  as  an  ancient  king  who  had  united  the  various 
towns  of  Attika  into  one  state,  and  laid  the  foundation  of 
its  political  constitution.  He  was  believed  to  have  freed 
the  country  from  daring  and  cruel  robbers,  and  thereby 

to  have  rendered  the  road  over  the  isthmus  of  Korinth 
safe  for  travellers,  to  have  slain  giants  and  destructive 
animals.  But  the  feat  for  which  he  was  most  famous 
was  the  manner  in  which  he  delivered  Athens  from  a 
tribute  which  had  to  be  paid  to  Minos,  a  mighty  king  of 
Krete.  This  tribute  consisted  of  a  number  of  young  men 
and  maidens,  who  were  sent  annually  to  Krete,  there  to 
l)e  devom-ed  by  a  monster  called  the  Minotaur,  who  lived 
in  a  labyrinthine  cave.  When  the  time  came  for  sending 
out  these  victims,  yoimg  Theseus  himself  desii-ed  to  be 
one  of  them.  On  his  arrival  in  Krete  he  won  the  love  of 
Ariadne,  the  king's  daughter,  who  furnished  him  with  a 
thread  by  means  of  which,  after  slaying  the  Minotaur, 
lie  found  his  way  out  of  the  labyrinth.  Having  thus 
freed  Athens  for  e\er  from  the  cruel  tribute,  he  left  the 


16 


HISTOIIY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTOBY   OF   GREECE. 


17 


)' 


fhT^  ^'^^"""Ine,  whom,  however,  he  abandoned  in 

m  his  wife.  H IS  father,  who  was  anxiously  watehing  for 
h.8  return,  was  led  by  the  bla«k  saU  when  the  ship  Ime 
m  sight,  to  the  behef,  that  his  son  had  perished,  and  b 

^  W  of'^^r"  ^- .  ^''''"^  "''^  «"'"=««'»ed  his  father 
TfX^u  ^  "'  ""^^  "^  commemoration  of  the  union 

of  the  whole  country  under  one  government,  established 
the  fMtival  of  the  Panathen^a.     His  memory  was Tre 
served  by  a  temple  called  the  Theseum,  which  L  AtC 
lans  erected  in  his  honour.  -ameu 

Mmos,  who  is  said  to  have  possessed  the  most  power- 
fu  navy  at  the  time,  is,  like  Theseus,  described  as  a  wke 

which  he  is  said  to  have  been  the  author,  can  be  shown 

by  the  Dorians,  when  they  colonised  the  island. 

r^^^tf^-'"  °f  ^tioJ^f  Meleagros,  who  succeeded 
Z  ii?°i  ^/«™<='°"«  boar  M-hich  devastated  the  country 
round  Kalydon-and  a  numberof  other  interesting  leS 
but  we  must  confine  om-selves  to  givin-  an  outlSie  nf 

auriiig  the  mythical  period.  ^ 

m  Exjyedition  of  the  Argonauts.— Jason,  it  is  said 
wa.  the  nghtftU  heir  of  the  kingdom  of  lolkos  in  Thes^ 

SofiTso^^^^ 

teai  of  Jason,  it  having  been  intimated  by  an  oracle  that 

a  descendant   of  ^olos-an  ancestor  of  JaLon^wouki 

succeed  to  the  thix>ne.      Pelias,   therefore,  Tnduce^  the 

young  pnnce  to  undertake  some  perilous  adventured  the 

hope  that  he  would  perish  in  it     Accompanied  by  many 

other  heroes,  he  ^iled  in  a  large  ship,  called  the  Ar^o 

coast  of  the  Black  Sea,  to  fetch  the  golden  fleece  which  was 
kept  there  m  a  grove  of  Ares  (Mars).     After  many  ad 

Ciifliculties  had  to  be  overcome.      But  Mcdela,  the  daughter 


of  ^etes,  the  king  of  Kolchis,  who  conceived  a  passion 

for  Jason,  and  was  skilled  in  all  manner  of  sorcery,  assisted 
Jason,  and  the  feat  was  successfully  accomplished.  Jason 
then  returned,  taking  Medeia  with  him  as  his  ^dfe,  and 
in  order  to  detain  her  father  who  was  pursuing  her,  Medeia 
kUled  her  young  brother  Absyi-tos,  and  dismembering  his 
body,  scattered  the  parts  on  her  road,  by  the  collecting  of 
which  her  father's  pursuit  was  checked.  The  adventures  of 
the  heroes  on  their  return  were  as  many  and  as  dangerous 
as  had  been  those  on  their  way  out.  On  Jason's  arrival 
at  lolkos,  Pelias  still  persisted  in  refusing  the  kingdom  to 
his  rival,  but  he  was  murdered,  and  Jason  became  king  of 

lolkos.  Some  years  later,  though  he  had  two  childien 
by  Medeia,  Jason  fell  in  love  with  Kreiisa,  daughter  of 
the  King  of  Korinth.  Medeia,  stung  with  jealousy,  had 
recourse  to  her  arts  of  sorcery,  and  caused  the  death  of 
her  rival  by  steeping  her  garment  in  a  poison  which  con- 
sumed her  body ;  she  then  murdered  her  own  two  chil- 
dren, and  disappeared  in  a  chariot  di-awn  by  winged 
dragons. 

This  story  implies  that  the  Greeks  even  in  those  early 
times  undertook  voyages  to  distant  lands.  It  is  quite 
evident  that  the  story,  as  it  is  related,  cannot  be  believed, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  historical  event  may  have 
given  rise  to  it,  and  we  must  take  it  as  it  stands,  as  a 
proof  of  what  the  childlike  imagination  of  the  Greeks 
could  be  made  to  believe. 

Tlie  Royal  Home  of  ^AeJe^.— Labdakos,  a  king  of 
Thebes,  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Laios,  who  married 
Jokasta,  and  by  her  became  the  father  of  (JEdipus.  Laios 
bemg  informed  by  an  oracle  that  this  son  would  cause  his 
death,  exposed  the  infant  in  a  forest  on  Mount  Kithseron, 
expecting  that  he  would  be  killed  by  wild  beasts.  But  the 
child  was  found  by  a  shej^herd,  who  took  it  to  Polybos, 
kmg  of  Korinth,  and  as  the  king's  wife  was  childless,  the 
cast-away  was  brought  up  as  his  own  son.  When  he 
grew  up  to  manhood  he  naturally  became  anxious  to  know 
hw  true  parentage,  and  proceeded  to  the  oracle  at  Delplii 
There  he  was  told  that  he  would  cause  his  father's  death, 


B 


18 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


and  in  order  to  avoid  the  possibility  of  such  a  misfortune, 
he  resolved  not  to  return  to  Korinth,  thinking  that  pos- 
sibly Polybos  might  after  all  be  his  father.  During  his 
wanderings  he  met  his  father  Laioe  in  a  narrow  defile. 
A  quarrel  arose  between  the  attendants  of  the  two  travel- 
lers, and  in  the  ensuing  fight  Laios  was  slain  by  CEdipus, 
who,  unaware  of  the  nature  of  his  crime,  proceeded  to 
Thebes.  That  city  happened  to  be  in  great  distress,  on  ac- 
count of  a  monster,  called  the  Sphinx,  half  lion  and  half 
woman,  who  proposed  a  riddle  to  all  persons  passing  by  the 
rock  in  which  she  lived,  and  every  one  who  was  unable  to 
solve  the  riddle,  was  hurled  from  the  rock  and  killed. 
CEdipus  succeeded  in  solving  the  riddle,  and  the  Sphinx 
then  cast  herself  from  the  rock.  The  widowed  queen 
Jokasta  had  made  it  known  that,  whoever  freed  Thebes  from 
the  monster  should  have  her  hand  and  share  her  throne. 
CEdipus  accordingly,  without  knowing  it,  married  his 
own  mother,  and  became  by  her  the  father  of  two  sons, 
Eteokles  and  Polyneikes,  and  two  daughters,  Antigone 
and  Ismene. 

During  the  period  of  this  unfortunate  marriage,  Thebes 
was  visited  by  all  sorts  of  calamities,  of  which  no  one 
knew  the  cause,  until  an  oracle  revealed  all  the  horrible 
facts.  Jokasta  in  despair  put  an  end  to  her  life,  and 
CEdipus  having  put  out  his  eyes,  wandered  about  as  a 
wretched  exile,  accompanied  only  by  his  afiectionate 
daughter  Antigone,  and  died  on  the  hill  of  Kolonos  in 
Attikiu  His  two  sons  succeeded  him  on  the  throne,  but 
soon  fell  out  with  each  other.  Each  secured  allies,  and 
a  war  ensued  called  the  war  of  the  Seven  against  Thebes, 
The  city  was  besieged,  and  the  war  lasted  for  a  long 
time,  until  in  a  final  hand-to-hand  struggle  Eteokles  and 
Polyneikes  pierced  each  other  through  the  body.  Their 
descendants  (the  Epigoni)  also  carried  on  a  war  against 
Thebes  to  avenge  their  fathers,  and  the  city  of  Thebes  was 
destroyed. 

The  Trojan  War  is  the  most  famous  of  all  the  enter- 
prises of  the  heroic  age,  and  this  fame  it  owes  to  the 
immortal  epic  of  the  Iliad  which  goes  by  the  name  of 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


19 


Homer,  and  is  the  only  one  of  the  many  epic  poems 
which  celebrated  the  exploits  of  the  heroes  of  Troy,  that 
has  come  down  to  our  time.  The  story  of  the  Trojan  war 
is  briefly  this.  During  a  contest  for  beauty  among  the  three 
goddesses — Hera  (Juno),  Athena  (Minerva),  and  Aphro- 
dite (Venus),  Paris,  a  son  of  Priam,  king  of  Troy,  was  chosen 
to  decide  the  dispute.  He  assigned  the  prize  to  Aphrodite, 
the  goddess  of  love  and  beauty,  who  in  return  promised 
him  the  most  beautiful  wife.  Helen,  a  daughter  of  Zeus 
and  Leda,  was  of  such  passing  beauty  that  all  the  Greek 
princes  were  suitors  for  her  hand.  Helen  preferred 
Menelaos,  king  of  Sparta,  and  her  foster-father  made  all 
the  Greek  princes  pledge  themselves  to  assist  and  support 
Menelaos,  if  ever  he  should  get  into  trouble  about  his 
wife.      On  one  occasion  Paris  visited  Sparta,  and,  aided 

by  Aphrodite,  he  not  only  won  the  love  of  Helen,  but 

with  a  gross  violation  of  the  laws  of  hospitality,  carried 
her  off,  together  with  many  treasures.  The  Trojans 
when  summoned  to  send  her  back  refused,  and  all  the 
Greek  chiefs,  faithful  to  their  promise,  now  undertook  to 
avenge  the  wrong  done  to  Menelaos ;  and,  united  under 
the  supreme  command  of  Agamemnon,  the  brother  of 
Menelaos  and  king  of  Mykense,  they  undertook  a  great 
expedition  against  Troy,  sailing  from  the  port  of  Aulis  in 
about  1200  ships.  Although  Agamemnon  had  the  su- 
preme command,  another  Greek  hero,  Achilles,  a  son  of 
the  goddess  Thetis,  surpassed  him  and  all  the  other  Greek 
chiefs  in  courage  and  valour.  The  principal  hero  among 
the  Trojans  was  Hector,  a  son  of  Priam.  On  one  occa- 
sion, Agamemnon  gravely  offended  Achilles,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  the  latter  withdrew  from  the  contest, 
and  the  Trojans  nearly  succeeded  in  driving  the  Greeks 

out  of  their  land.     But  in  the  hour  of  extremity,  when 

his  own  friend  Patroklos  had  fallen,  Achilles  again 
began  to  take  part  in  the  fight,  and  in  the  end  killed 
Hector.  He  then  tied  his  body  by  the  feet  to  his 
chariot,  and  dragged  it  thrice  round  the  city.  The  war 
lasted  ten  years,  and  ended  in  Troy  being  taken  by  the 
Greeks  through   the  famous   straiiigem  of  the  wooden 


<?■ 


20 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


do 


horse.  The  Trojans  are  said  to  have  been  assisted  by 
auxilianes  from  several  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  even 
from  the  far  distant  east.  The  faU  of  Troy  is  commonly 
assigned  to  the  year  B.C.  1184. 

This  story,  with  all  the  marvellous  details  described  in 
the  Homeric  and  other  poems,  cannot,  of  course,  be  re- 
garded as  real  history,  but  still  we  need  not  refuse  to 
believe  that  at  one  time  there  actually  was  a  great  war 
between  the  Greeks  of  Europe  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 

north-west  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  which  may  perhaps  have 
arisen  out  of  an  attempt  of  the  Greeks  to  take  possession 
ot  that  part  of  Asia,  for  it  is  there  that  the  Greeks  estab- 
lished their  first  colonies,  of  which  moreover  A^m^mnon 
was  regarded  as  the  founder. 

The  return  of  the  heroes  from  Troy  foi-ms  the  tmnsi- 
tion  to  an  entirely  new  state  of  things.  Many  of  them 
had  been  killed  in  the  war,  others  had  perished  on  their 
way  home,  and  others  wandered  about  for  many  yeare 
before  they  reached  their  native  land,  and  then  found 
their  thrones  occupied  by  usurpers,  or  their  kingdom  in 
a  state  of  anarchy.  Thus  Agamemnon  on  his  arrival  at 
Mykenae  was  murdered  by  ^gisthos,  the  paramour  of 
his  wife  Clytsemnestra ;  and  Odysseus  had  to  contend 
against  numerous  suitors  for  his  throne  and  the  hand  of 
his  wife  Penelope.  In  fact,  the  stories  about  the  return 
of  the  heroes  from  Troy  formed  as  important  a  part  in 

the  ballad  poetry  of  the  Greeks  as  the  Trojan  war  itself 
±5ut  after  this  the  heroes  entirely  disappear,  and  we  are 
beginning  to  feel  that  the  events  recorded  thereafter  have 
more  the  real  appearance  of  history  than  anything  pre- 


ceding  it. 


8ACRIFICK  OF  A  BUIiU 


CHAPTER  II. 


COIN  OF  SMYRNA. 


STATE    OP   CIVILISATION   DURING    THE    HEROIC    AGE. 

As  the  Trojan  war  and  its  immediate  consequences  form 
the  close  of  the  heroic  age,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  cast  a 
glance  at  the  state  of  civilisation  during  that  period,  so 
far  as  it  is  revealed  to  us  in  the  poems  of  the  Iliad  and 
Odyssey,  the  earliest  productions  of  European  literature. 
One  of  the  most  characteristic  features  of  the  heroic 
age  is  the  peculiar  relation  between  gods  and  men.      The 
gods  were  believed  to  dwell  on  Mount  Olympus  in  the 
north-east   of  Thessaly;    thence   they  often   descended, 
mingled  among  mortal  men,  took  an  active  part  in  their 
affairs,  and  in  times  of  war  some  always  sided  with  the 
one  party,  and  others  with  the  other.       When  they  ap- 
I>eared  among  men,  they  usually  assumed  the  form  of 
some    mortal,  and   but  rarely  showed  themselves  in  all 
their  majesty  as  gods,  because  it  would  have  been  over- 
powering to  the  weak  senses  of  men.    But  still  they  were 
everywhere  conceived  as  beings  of  the  human  form,  both 
male  and  female.      This  anthropomorphism  of  the  gods, 
however,  seems  to  have  been  a  conception  of  a  later  stage 
in   the  development  of  the  religious  ideas  during   the 
heroic  age ;  for  the  earliest  Greeks,  or  the  Pelasgians,  as 
we  may  call  them,   worshipped  the  various  powers  of 
Nature  as  manifested  in  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  clouds, 
the  winds,  the  sea,  earthquakes,  thxmder  and  lightning- 
in  short,  wherever  they  perceived  any  active  agency  in 


^^ 


22 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


23 


Kature,  they  looked  upon  it  with  awe  and  reverence  as  a 
manifestation  of  some  deity.  In  this  respect  the  ancient 
Greek  religion  still  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  that  of  their 
Aryan  kinsmen  in  the  east.  Thus  Zeus  was  the  father  of 
light,  Apollo  was  the  sun,  Artemis  (Diana)  the  moon,  Posei- 
don (Neptune)  the  sea,  Athena  the  personification  of  wisdom 
and  valour,  etc.  But  when  once  the  gods  were  conceived 
as  beings  of  human  forms,  subject  to  all  the  weaknesses 
and  passions  of  mortal  men,  the  more  ancient  and  grander 
ideas  of  the  gods  were  gradually  forgotten,  though  in 
many  of  the  tales  related  about  them  we  can  still  hear, 
as  it  were,  an  echo  of  the  noble  primitive  ideas,  and 
many  a  tale  which  appears  to  us  ridiculous  or  even  im- 
moi-al,  frequently  enshrines  some  sublime  idea  of  Nature's 
powers  and  influences.  The  gods  were  conceived  as  im- 
mortal beings,  and  each  one  in  his  own  sphere  as  almost 
omnipotent;  but  there  was  a  still  gi^eater  power,  the 
power  of  Fate,  to  whose  inscrutable  and  inflexible  decrees 
even  the  gods  had  to  submit,  and  from  which  mortal 
men,  do  what  they  might,  could  not  escape,  as  is  seen  in 
the  story  of  (Edipus.  The  supposed  anger  of  the  gods 
was  propitiated,  and  their  goodwill  secured  by  sacrifices 
and  prayers ;  and  the  more  precious  a  sacrifice  was,  the 
more  efficacious  it  was  believed  to  be,  whence  even 

human  sacrifices  appear^  to  have  been  resorted  to.  In 
later  times  the  gods  were  represented  in  statues  of  marble 
or  bronze,  and  set  up  in  temples ;  but  sometimes  even  a 
veiy  rude  image  or  a  stone,  supposed  to  have  fallen  from 
heaven,  was  reverently  looked  upon  as  the  symbol  of 
some  god.  We  must  not,  however,  believe  that  the 
Greeks  actually  worshipped  such  images  and  symbols; 
such  idolatry,  if  it  ever  did  occur,  arose  only  at  a  veiy 
late  i>eriod  of  Greek  history,  and  even  then  was  confined 
to  the  ignorant  who  confoimded  the  symbols  with  the 
gods  themselves. 

Although  the  gods  were  not  always  represented  by  the 
poets  as  models  of  goodness  and  morality,  they  were, 
nevertheless,  supposed  to  punish  the  misdeeds  of  men 
both  in  this  world  and  in  a  future  state,  for  they  believed 


in  a  sort  of  immortality  of  the  soul,  though  its  life  in  the 
nether  world  was  believed  to  be  so  dismal  that  one  of 
the  great  heroes  is  said  to  have  declared  he  would  rather 
be  a  beggar  on  earth  than  a  king  of  the  shades  in  the 
lower  regions.  Zeus,  the  supreme  god,  was  looked  upon 
as  the  protector  of  hospitality,  of  strangers,  and  of  beggars. 
The  violation  of  an  oath  was  also  believed  to  be  avenged 
by  Zeus. 

All  men  have  a  natural  desire  to  know  something  of 
the  future,  and  the  Greeks  fancied  that  such  knowledge 
could  be  obtained  in  a  variety  of  ways,  from  signs  in  the 
heavens,  from  dreams,  and  other  natural  occurrences ;  but 
there  also  were  men,  like  Kalchas,  Teiresias,  and  others, 
who  were  believed  to  have  received  the  gift  of  prophecy 
from  the  gods.  There  were,  moreover,  certain  localities 
in  which  the  gods  were  supposed  to  reveal  the  future  to 
mortals.  The  most  ancient  and  most  celebrated  plaee  of 
this  kind  was  Dodona,  with  its  oracle  of  Zeus,  in  Epinis. 
This  was  afterwards  eclipsed  by  the  renowned  oracle  of 
Apollo  at  Delphi,  where  states  and  cities,  as  well  as  pri- 
vate citizens,  sought  comfort  and  advice,  and  nothing 
great  was  ever  undertaken  without  first  consulting  the 
will  of  the  gods. 

The  arts  of  war  and  navigation  were  still  in  their  in- 
fancy. The  ships  which  conveyed  the  Greeks  to  Troy 
were  open  boats,  some  carrying  120,  and  others  only 
50  men.  During  the  war  itself,  we  hear,  indeed,  of 
armies,  but  the  poets  generally  speak  only  of  the  combats 
of  heroes,  which  always  decide  the  issue  of  a  battle,  imless 
some  god  interferes.  The  masses  appear  mostly  only  as 
a  sort  of  background  and  foil  for  the  heroes.  Each  hero, 
accompanied  by  a  charioteer,  fights  from  a  chariot  di-awn 
by  two  horses,  and  is  armed  with  sword,  spear,  and  bow 
and  arrows.  No  quai-ter  was  given  to  a  vanquished 
enemy,  whose  dead  body  even  was  often  savagely  in- 
sulted. Prisonei'S  of  war,  especially  women,  were  gene- 
i-ally  distributed  as  slaves  among  the  conquerors,  while 
tlje  men  were  put  to  death. 

The  country  of  Greece,  which  was  then  not  yet  desig- 


24 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


nated  by  a  common  name,  was  divided  into  a  great  num- 
ber of  principalities,  each  of  which  was  governed  by 
an  hereditary  king.  On  grave  occasions  the  king  sum- 
moned a  council  of  elders  or  nobles,  among  whom  he  was 
only  the  first  in  rank.     The  great  body  of  the  people 

were  of  little  account.     Laws  in  our  sense  of  the  term 

did  not  exist,  everything  being  determined  by  ancient 
usage  and  precedent. 

The  social  life,  as  we  might  expect,  was  extremely 
simple,  and  in  many  ways  resembled  that  of  our  ancestors 
during  the  Middle  Ages.       Even  queens  and  princesses 
performed  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  household  down  to 
fetching  water  and  washing  clothes.      Females  were  under 
less  restraint  than  we  find  them  during  the  historical 
times.     The  nobles  who  were  mainly  distinguished  for 
their  prowess,  and  sometimes  for  their  wisdom,  generally 
had  a  number  of  slaves  who,  in  most  cases,  were  prisoners 
of  war,  or  had  been  purchased  from  foreign  merchants,  or 
were  the  children  of  slaves  bom  in  the  house  of  the 
master.     Though  the  Greeks  were  severe  in  their  treat- 
ment of  slaves,  they  never  were  wanton  or  insulting 
towards  them,  except,  perhaps,  at  Sparta.      The  nobles 
had  their  lands  cultivated  either  by  hired  freemen  or  by 
slaves,  though  the  latter  were  more  generally  employed 
in  domestic  labours.     The  Greeks  were  at  all  times  a 
frugal  nation,  especially  during  the  heroic  ages,  and  ex- 
cesses in  drinking  are  scarcely  ever  mentioned. 

All  commerce  was  carried  on  by  barter,  and  money  is 
not  mentioned  during  the  heroic  period,  though  there 
seems  to  have  been  an  abimdance  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
bronze  and  iron  were  in  common  use.  Piracy  was  not 
looked  upon  as  a  dishonourable  occupation,  and  was 
practised  extensively.  In  the  coast  districts  cattle  and 
human  beings  were  often  carried  ofi*  by  pirates  who  sold 
the  men  as  slaves;  a  man  might  even  gain  distinction 
and  honour  by  displaying  skill  and  valour  as  a  pirate. 

The  arts  most  highly  prized  were  those  of  war :  the 
skilful  use  of  arms,  swiftness  of  foot,  and  a  good  loud 
voice.      The  geogiaphical  knowledge  of  this  period  was 


25 


limited  to  Greece,  the  surrounding  islands,  and  the  north- 
west coast  of  Asia  Minor ;  all  other  coimtries,  even  Italy 
and  Sicily,  seem  to  have  been  utterly  unknown,  and  most 
marvellous   tales  were   current  about  them  and  other 
neighbouring  coimtries.      Of  literature  we  can  hardly 
speak  in  those  early  ages,  for  although  the  art  of  writing 
IS  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  Greece  at  a  very 
early  period,  it  is  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  stories  that 
have  come  down  to  our  time.     But  we  have  good  reason 
for  believing  that  there  existed  a  considerable  amount  of 
ballad  poetry,  celebrating  the  deeds  of  the  heroes,  and 
hymns  of  praise  to  the  gods.      The  Iliad  itself  is  probably 
a  collection  of  ballads  of  this  kind,   skilfully  combined 
nito   one  great  epic  poem    by  a  later  hand  or  hands. 
Homer,  the  reputed  author  of  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey,  is  -^"^^y^' 
commonly  believed  to  have  lived  about  B.C.  900.     Hesiod,  7 
another  poet  who  flourished  somewhat  later,  employs  a 
language  very  like  that  of  his  predecessor,  but  his  subjects 
are  very  difierent,  for  he  describes  to  us  the  origin  of  the 
gods  and  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  ordinary  life.     But  both 
l)oets  have  greatly  contributed  towards  fixing  for  all  future 
time  the  ideas  and  conceptions  about  the  Hellenic  gods. 


LION  OATE  OF  MVSENJS. 


i       t 


I 


\ 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


27 


TRKASURE   UOUSE  OF  ATREUS. 


CHAPTER  III. 


FROM   THE   TROJAN   TIMES   TO  THE  CONQUEST  OF  MESSENIA 


BY   THE    SPARTANS. 

The  first  century  after  tlie  Trojan  times  was  a  period  of 
migrations,  one  ever  giving  rise  to  another.      It  may 
here  be  observed  that,  although  the  Greeks  throughout 
their  country  belonged  to  the  same  race,  there  yet  were 
some   important  diiferences,    not  only  in  language,   but 
also  in  the  national  character  and  the  institutions  of  the 
various  tribes.      One  very  widely-spread  branch  of  the 
nation  was  that  of  the  Achseans,  whom  we  meet  with  in. 
Thessaly,  and  in  a  great  part  of  Peloponnesus.    Afterwards 
we  find  the  nation  divided  into  three  great  branches,  the 
Dorians,  lonians,  and  -^olians,  each  of  which  occupied 
a  distinct  part  of  Hellas,  and  all  of  which  traced  their 
origin  to  a  mythical  ancestor  of  the  name  of  Hellen. 
The  Dorians,  originally  confined  to  a  small  district  in  the 

north-west  of  Mount  Parnassus,  were  a  hai'dy,  warlike 

lace,  and  their  dialect  was  broad  and  harsh  ;  the  lonians, 
whose  dialect  was  soft  and  rich  in  vowels,  were  distin- 
guished for  their  subtle  intellect  and  spirit  of  enterprise ; 
they  represented  the  ever  progi-essive  principle,  while  the 
Dorians,  being  more  conservative,  remained  in  many 
respects  stationary.  The  lonians  inhabited  the  westtn-a 
part  of  Greece,  the  north  of  Peloponnesus,  and  Attika. 


The  Cohans,  both  in  regard  to  their  dialect  and  their 
national  charax^ter,  formed  a  kind  of  intermediate  tribe 
between  the  other  two,  but  their  dialect  preserved  the 
oldest  forms  of  the  language.      As  each  of  these  three 
tribes  passed  through  its  own  peculiar  development  al- 
most  mdependent  of  the  others,  their  arts  and  literature 
also  bore  a  distinct  character,  each  tribe  cultivating  those 
powers  with  which  Nature  had  specially  endowed  it,  and 
which  cin^umstances  called  into  action.    In  Greece,  there- 
tore,  we  find  no  system  of  centralisation  or  uniformity,  and 
the  works  of  Greek  genius  display  an  almost  unexampled 
richness  and  variety.  ^ 

^  The  first  of  the  migrations  we  hear  of  occurred  about 
s^ty  years  after  the  fall  of  Troy.      The  Thessalians,  a 
people  dweUmg  m  Epmis,  came  across  the  mountains 
mto  the  country  afterwards  called  after  them  Thessalv 
and  there  reduced  one  part  of  the  population  to  servitude! 
and  compelled  others  to  emigrate.      Among  the  latter 
the  Boeotians  migrated  south,  and  took  possession  of  the 
country  henceforth  called  Boeotia.     This  latter  country 
had  until  then  been  inhabited  by  Kadmeians  and  Min- 
yans,  but  they  being  now  driven  from  their  homes,  and 
bemg  joined  by  Achseans  from  Peleponnesus,  are  said  to 
have  sailed  to  the  north-west  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  and 
there  to  have  established  a  series  of  settlements  known 
by  the  name  of  the  jEolian  Colonies, 

Another  migration  of  far  greater  importance  was  that 
ot  the  Dormns  mto  Peloponnesus,  of  which  they  con- 
quered the  greater  and  most  fertile  parts.  This  micjration 
IS  commonly  assigned  to  the  year  B.C.  1104.  It  Is  said 
to  have  arisen  out  of  a  claim  set  up  by  the  descendants 

Of  Herakles  upon  the  possession  of  a  portion  of  Pelopon- 
nesus.     The  Donans,  who  can  have  formed  only  a  small 

Tn^'''^?  1  '^°^lf  ^^ts>  ^ere  joined  by  adventurers 
irom  ^toha  and  other  countries,  and  with  their  help 
gradually  overpowered  the  original  inhabitants  of  the 
peninsula,  and  either  reduced  them  to  a  state  of  servitude 
or  forced  them  to  seek  a  new  home  in  other  lands.  Ar- 
kadia,  the  central  highlands  of  Peloponnesus,  alone  ro- 


28 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF   GREECE. 


29 


I 


mained  unconquered,  and  for  a  long  time  preserved  its 
piimitive  Pelasgian  character.  The  conquering  chiefs 
.  divided  the  newly-acquired  countries  among  themselves. 
Oxylos,  an  -^tolian  who  had  guided  the  invaders,  ob- 
tained for  his  share  the  country  called  Elis,  which  he 
governed  with  wisdom  and  moderation,  depriving  the 
original  inhabitants  of  only  a  portion  of  their  lands. 
Tisamenos,  a  grandson  of  Agamemnon,  after  having 
vainly  attempted  to  obtain  peaceful  settlements  among 

the  lonians  in  the  north  coast  of  Peloponnesus,  waged  a 

successful  war  against  them,  and  expelled  them  from 
their  country,  of  which  he  himself,  with  his  Achseans, 
then  took  possession.  That  coast  country  thenceforward 
obtained  the  name  of  Achaia.  The  exiled  lonians  sought 
and  found  a  refuge  among  their  kinsmen  in  Attika ;  but 
as  the  population  of  Attika  thus  became  too  large,  con- 
sidering the  few  fertile  districts  it  contained,  the  lonians 
were  soon  obliged  to  leave  their  place  of  refuge,  and 
accompanied  by  other  adventurers,  emigrated  to  the  coast 
of  Asia  Minor,  where  they  founded  a  series  of  colonies  to 
the  south  of  those  of  the  -Cohans. 

Meanwhile  the  Dorian  chiefs  in  Peloponnesus  con- 
tinued to  divide  the  conquered  countries  among  them- 
selves. Eurysthenes  and  Prokles,  the  twin  sons  of  the 
Dorian  chief  Aristodemos,  who  had  died  during  the 
conquest,  obtained  Lakonia;  Kresphontes,  Messenia;  and 

Teinenos,  Argos.     Eurysthenes  and  Prokles,  who  fixed 

their  residence  at  Sparta,  are  said  to  have  allowed  the 

conquered  Achseans  the  same  rights  as  the  conquering 
Dorians ;  but  one  of  their  successors  reduced  all  the  old 
inhabitants  of  the  country  to  the  condition  of  subjects,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Helos,  who  had  resolutely 
defended  their  independence  to  the  last,  were  conquered  in 
the  end,  and  reduced  to  a  state  of  slavery,  whence  after- 
wards all  the  slaves  in  Lakonia  are  called  Helots.  These 
conquests  are  said  to  have  taken  place  in  a  very  short 
time,  but  there  is  sufiicient  evidence  to  show  that  many 
a  town  in  Lakonia,  Messenia,  and  elsewhere,  defended 
its  independence  for  a  long  time.     The  Dorians,  however, 


piished  their  conquests  farther,  and  a  descendant  of 
Herakles,  of  the  name  of  Aletes,  made  himself  master  of 
Kormth  and  there  established  a  new  dynasty.  During 
these  wars  of  conquest,  many  parts  of  Peloponnesus  had 

been  laid  waste,  and  thus  compelled  the  conquerors  to 
proceed  to  other  parts.      The  taking  of  Korinth  brou^jht 
them  to  the  confines  of  Attika,    which  was  then  gov- 
erned by  a  king  of  the  name  of  Kodros,      Aletes  led 
the   mvaders   into   Attika.       An    oracle   had    declared 
that  the  Dorians  would  be    successful   if  they  spared 
the  life  of  the  Athenian  king.      When  the  Athenians 
heard  of  this  prophecy,    their  noble   king  at  once  re- 
solved  to  sacrifice  himself  for  his   country.       In    the 
disguise  of  a  woodman  he  went  among  the  invaders,  and 
slew  one  of  them,  whereupon  the   Dorians,  who  had 
witnessed  the  deed,  rushed  on  and  killed  him.     When  it 
became  known  to  them  that  they  had  slain  the  Athenian 
king,  they  were  seized  with  terror,  and  withdrew  their 
forces  from  Attika. 

While  Attika  thus  escaped  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  Donans,  a  portion  of  it,  afterwards  called  Me^ara 
was  occupied  by  a  Dorian  colony  from   Korinth.     The 
island  of  ^gma  was  likewise  seized  bv  the  Dorians      A 
far  niore  important  conquest  than  these  was  that  of  the 
island  of  Kreie.      During  the  long  troubles  connected 
with  the  conquest  of  Peloponnesus,  many  Dorian  adven- 
turers, either  dissatisfied  with  what  they  had  got    or 
having  been  unable  to  obtain  any  share  in  the  spoil   pro- 
ceeded to  the  islands  of  Rhodes  and  Krete.     In  the  latter 
they  are  said  to  have  met  with  few  obstacles,  as  they 
tound  the  place  almost  depopulated  by  disease  and  famine 
ihey  were  accordingly  enabled  to  establish  themselves 
unlimdered,  and  to  preserve  their  ancient  national  char- 
acter and  mstitutions.     Although  these  institutions  are 
commonly  said  to  have  been  founded  by  the  ancient  kincr 
Minos,  to  make  them  appeal^  more  venei-able,  yet  it  is 
quite  certain  that  they  were  brought  in  by  the  Dorians 
themselves,  for  in  whatever  parts  of  Greece  the  Dorians 
established  themselves,  we  find  the  same  or  very  similar 


30 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF    GREECE. 


31 


Hi 


institutions  as  those  of  Krete.  Their  general  outline  is, 
that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  were  divided  into 
three  classes,  freemen^  perioeciy  and  slaves,  the  last  two 
being  probably  the  descendants  of  the  original  inhabitants. 
The  perioeci  were  obliged  to  live  in  open  towns,  and 
were  personally  free,  but  had  to  pay  tribute  to  their 
Dorian  rulers.  All  the  powers  of  the  government  were 
m  the  hands  of  the  Dorians.  A  great  part  of  the 
land  was  taken  from  the  original  proprietors,  and  was 
either  occupied  by  the  Dorians  theraselves,  or  set  apart 

as  state  property  cultivated  by  public  slaves.  The  Dorian 
rulers  occupied  themselves  exclusively  with  the  pursuit 
of  war  and  the  chase,  while  the  land  was  tilled  by  the 
perioeci  and  the  slaves.  Krete  itself  was  divided  into 
several  small  states,  each  of  which  was  governed  by  ten 
annually  elected  magistrates,  bearing  the  title  of  Kosmoi, 
and  at  the  end  of  their  year  of  office  they  might  become 
members  of  the  senate,  consisting  of  thirty  men,  and  bear- 
ing the  title  of  geronia  or  bul6.  We  also  hear  of  a  popular 
assembly  consisting  of  all  freemen  who  had  attained  a 
certain  age,  but  tins  assembly  does  not  seem  to  have  had 
any  other  power  but  to  give  its  assent  to  the  measure* 
which  the  government  thought  fit  to  bring  before  it. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  in  the  Kretan  mode 
of  life,  though  this,  too,  is  found  in  other  Doric  states, 
was  that  all  the  Dorian  freemen,  old  and  young,  took 
their  meals  together  at  public  tables,  and  at  the  expense 
of  the  state.  These  meetings  in  Krete  were  called 
andreia,  and  in  other  Doric  states,  syssitia.  Such  a 
custom  could  not  but  keep  up  a  strong  esprit  de  corps 
among  the  freemen,  and  the  young  naturally  imbibed  the 
ideas  of  their  eldei*s.  The  education  of  boys  was  harsh 
and  severe,  and  this  also  is  a  feature  we  meet  with  in  all 
other  Doric  states. 

In  no  country  was  the  Doric  character  more  firmly 
established  and  lasted  longer  than  in  LaJconia.  A  few 
centuries,  indeed,  elapsed  before  things  were  completely 
and  peacefully  settled,  but  Sparta^  the  capital  of  Lakonia, 
soon  rose  to  the  rank  of  the  first  city  in  Greece.     Its  laws 


and  political  institutions  are  generally  ascribed  to  the 
great  l^w^v^v  Lykurgos ;  but  if  we  examine  them  and 
compare  them  with  those  of  other  Doric  states,  we  find 
that  their  groundwork  at  least  is  the  same  as  everywhere 
else,  whence  we  must  infer  that  Lykurgos  probably  did 
no  more  than  collect  and  arrange  in  one  code  what  had  been 
the  ancient  usages  of  his  countrymen.     His  history  is 
anythmg  but  certain.     The  date  generally  assigned  to  his 
egislation  is  the  year  B.C.  884,  but  others  pla^^e  him  more 
tnan  JUU  years  eariier.     Sparta  was  always  governed  bv 
two  kings,  the  descendants  of  Eurysthenes  and  Prokles 
and  Lykurgos  was  believed  to  have  been  connected  with 
one  of  these  royal  houses.     One  of  the  kings,  it  is  said, 
had  died,  and  his  widow  wishing  to  marry  Lykurgos 
proposed  to  get  rid  of  her  son  and  secure  the  succession 
to  Lykurgos.     But  the  latter's  sense  of  justice  revolted  at 
such  a  scheme,  and  in  order  to  escape  the  importunities 
ot  the  widow,  and  to  secure  the  succession  to  the  younc^ 
pnnce,  he  left  Sparta,  and  spent  the  best  part  of  his  life 
in  foreign  countries,  where  he  gathered  knowledge  and 
information  until  at  last,  urged  by  his  countrymen,  he 
returned.      On  his  arrival  he  is  said  to  have  found  Spkrta 
m  a  state  of  the  greatest  disorder.     The  party  favourable 
to  him  induced  the  Delphic  orax^le  to  declare  him  the 
wisest  of  mortals.      Armed   with  this  declaration,   his 
friends  easily  persuaxied  their  fellow-citizens  to  entrust 
the  necessary  reforms  and  legislation  to  him.     He  had 
still  to  contend  with  much  opposition,  but  he  neverthe- 
less succeeded  m  enacting  a  series  of  laws  by  which  the 
civil  and  military  constitution  of  the  state,  the  distribu- 
tion of  property,  the  education  of  the  citizens,  and  the 
regulation  of  their  daily  life  were  fixed.     When  he  had 
accomplished  his  work,  he  departed  to  Delphi,  binding 
his  fellow-citizens  by  a  solemn  oath  not  to  make  any 
change  m  his  laws  until  his  return.     But  he  never  did 
return  and  the  Delphic  ora<;le  declared  that  Sparta  should 
flourish  so  long  as  it  observed  the  laws  of  Lykurgos     By 
this  means  the  immutable  chara<jter  of  his  laws  wals 
secured,  and  the  person  of  the  lawgiver  was  entirely  lost 


32 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


33 


sight  of,  but  the  Spartaiis  erected  a  temple  in  his  honour, 
and  worshipped  him  as  a  demi-god  with  annual  sacrifices. 

The  legislation  of  Lykurgos  forms  an  epoch  in  the 
history  of  Lakonia,  for  up  to  this  time  the  country  ap- 
pears to  have  been  in  a  state  of  utter  confusion  and 
anarchy ;  but  there  now  followed  a  long  period  of  order 
and  settled  government.  The  reforms  introduced  by  the 
legislator  influenced  the  whole  country,  and  the  public 
as  well  as  the  private  life  of  its  inhabitants,  and  what 
hitherto  had  been  mere  customs  and  usages,  were  now 
transformed  into  fixed  laws,  sanctioned  and  hallowed  by 
the  oracle  of  Delphi.  One  of  the  great  objects  of  Lykur- 
gos was  to  establish  the  sovereignty  of  Sparta  over  the 

whole  of  Lakonia,  and  to  unite  the  Spartans  among  them- 
selves as  closely  as  possible.  In  order  to  put  an  end  to 
the  quarrels  and  disputes  about  the  land,  he  is  said  to 
have  made  an  entirely  new  division  of  all  the  landed  pro- 
perty in  the  country.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  that 
the  whole  of  Lakonia  was  not  completely  conquered  by 
the  Dorians  till  about  a  century  after  Lykurgos ;  but  so 
far  as  they  were  then  masters  of  it,  he  is  said  to  have 
divided  it  into  39,000  lots,  of  which  9000  were  assigned 
to  the  Spartans,  and  30,000  to  the  free  Lakonians  scattered 
over  the  country.  Another  account  assigns  this  division 
of  landed  property  to  a  later  period,  when  Messenia  had 

become  subject  to  Sparta. 

It  is  but  natural  to  suppose  that  the  ruling  Spartans 
retained  the  best  parts  of  the  land  for  themselves.  We 
find  the  whole  population  divided  into  three  classes :  (1.) 
the  Spartans  or  ruling  Dorians  ;  (2.)  the  slaves  or  Helots; 
and  (3.)  the  subject  people  of  Lakonia.  The  last  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  the  ancient  Achaean  inhabitants,  who 
were  obliged  to  live  in  open  towns  and  villages,  as  the 
Dorians  were  in  perpetual  fear  of  their  rising  against 
them.  They  were  pereonally  free,  but  had  no  political 
rights ;  they  had  to  bear  the  heaviest  burdens,   and  to 

fight  the  battles  of  their  rulers ;  but  on  the  other  hand 
they  were  in  the  undivided  possession  of  all  the  trades 
and  manufactures  of  the  country,  as  the  ruling  Spartans 


looked  upon  all  such  pursuits  as  degrading.     The  Helots 
were  probably  those  of  the  ancient  Ach^ans  who  had  most 
resolutely  defended  their  liberty,  but  being  overpowered 
m  the  end,  were  reduced  to  a  state  of  servitude.     Their 
condition  was  more  wi-etched  than  that  of  the  slaves  in 
any  other  part  of  Greece ;  they  were  looked  upon  with 
fear  and  jealousy,  and  often  treated  with  inhuman  cruelty 
to  make  them  feel  the  contempt  in  which  they  were  held 
and  to  break  their  spirits.     They  were  bound  to  the  soil! 
and  could  not  be  sold  into  another  country.    They  might 
however,  recover  their  freedom  by  zeal  and  industry,  tnd 
as  they  always  a^jcompanied  their  masters  in  war,  they 
might  even  enrich  themselves  by  plunder 

The  ruling  Spartans  had  all  equal  rights,  and  formed  a 
sort  of  aristocracy  like  that  of  the  Roman  patricians,  and 
they  alone  constituted  the  really  free  citizens.     As  already 
observed,  the  Spartans  were  governed  by  two  hereditary 
kings ;  and  the  constitution,  approved  as  it  had  been  by 
the  oracle,  remained  the  same  down  to  the  latest  times 
when   Its  very  spirit   and    soul    had  vanished.       The 
popular  assembly,  in  which,  of  course,  the  Spartans  alone 
took  part,  was  convened  by  the  magistrates  at  stated 
times,  but  could  only  accept  or  reject  the  measures  brought 
betore  it.     There  was  also  a  senate  consisting  of  twenty- 
eight,  or,  including  the  two  kings,  thirty  members  •  it 
bore  the  name  of  gerusia—tha,t  is,   assembly  of  eldei-s 
They  were  chosen  by  the  kings,  and  none  could  become  a 
member  of  the  senate  until  he  had  completed  his  sixtieth 
year.     The  function  of  the  senate  was  to  prepare  the 
measures  which  were  to  be  brought  before  the  people,  and 
the  country  seems,  in  fact,  to  have  been  governed  by  that 
body  and  the  two  kings  alone,  until  at  a  somewhat  later 
period  a  magistracy,  called  the  ephors,  was  instituted, 
whei^by  the  powei-s  of  both  the  kings  and  the  senate 
were  considerably  reduced.     The  kings  originally  had  the 
supreme  command  of  the  armies ;  they  were  the  hi<^h 
priests  and  supreme  judges  of  the  nation ;  they  we'^-e 
revered  as  the  chief  magistrates,  and  as  descendants  of 
Herakles ;  they  possessed  extensive  domains,  and  received 

G 


'L 


34 


EISTORY   OF    GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


35 


certain  payments  in  kind  which  enabled  them  to  live  in 
rather  a  sumptuous  manner ;  the  ephors,  about  whose 
origin  nothing  certain  is  known,  were  five  in  number, 
and  seem  at  first  to  have  possessed  a  kind  of  civil  juris- 
diction among  the  Spartans,  but,  like  the  Roman  tribunes, 
their  powers  gi-adually  increased  so  much  that  they  became 
the  virtual  rulers  of  the  state. 

A  Spartan  citizen  lived  only  for  the  state ;   his  sub- 
stance, time,  strength,  faculties,  and  affections  were  dedi- 
cated to  its  service,  and  its  welfare  and  glory  were  his 
highest  honour  and  happiness.     As  the  Spartans  formed 
a  close  aristocracy,  their  numbei^  gradually  decreased, 
and  as  their  property  could  not  be  sold,  but  always  de- 
scended to  the  eldest  son,  or,  in  default  of  a  son,  to  the 
eldest  daughter,  the  landed  property  in  the  end  accumu- 
lated in  the  hands  of  a  few  extremely  wealthy  proprietors. 
The  Spartans  were  never  allowed  to  coin  money,  and  bars 
or  pieces  of  iron  continued  to  be  their  only  legal  currency 
down  to  the  latest  times.     This  rule,  however,  did  not 
apply  to  the  Lakonians,  who  were  perfectly  free  in  then- 
commercial  dealings  with  other  states.      Women  were 
much  more  respected  and  honoured  at  Sparta  than  in 
other  parts  of  Greece ;  and  the  education  of  young  men 
for  the  service  of  the  state  was  conducted  with  gi-eat 
care,  but  all  that  was  aimed  at  in  their  education  was  to 
ti-ain  them  as  men  who  had  to  live  in  the  midst  of  danger 
and  difficulty,  and  should  be  as  ready  to  obey  as  to  com- 
mand.    Sickly  or  deformed  children  were  exposed  in  the 
forests  of  Mount  Taygetos.      Martial  poetry,  however, 
and  gymnastic  exercises  were  held  in  high  esteem. 

From  all  this  we  see  that  the  Spai-tan  institutions  were 
of  a  one-sided  character,  and  scarcely  deserved  the  high 
admiration  which  has  often  been  bestowed  upon  them. 
The  Spartans  in  all  their  movements  wei-e  cautious  and 
slow.  War  was  their  element,  and  the  only  service  con- 
sidered worthy  of  a  Spartan  was  that  of  the  heavy  armed 
infantry.  The  Helots  formed  the  light  infantry,  and 
Sparta  never  acquii-ed  any  naval  power  imtil  nearly  500 
yeai-s  after  the  time  of  Lykurgos. 


The  legislation  of  Lykurgos  secured  to  Sparta  a  well 
regulated  government  and  discipline;  and  when  about 
100  years  later  the  whole  of  Lakonia  was  finally  sub- 
dued, the  Spaiians  might  have  enjoyed  a  period  of  repose 
and  tranquillity.  But  their  warlike  spirit  and  the  love 
of  conquest  fostered  by  so  many  years  of  warfare  with 
the  ancient  Achaeans,  led  them  into  a  war  with  Ar^os  for 
the  possession  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Lakonia, ''which 
belonged  to  Argos,  but  was  finally  conquered  by  the 
Spartans. 

^    A  more  imjwrtant  country  which  excited  their  jealousy 
and  covetousness  was  Messenia,  on  the  west  of  Lakonia 
which  was  far  more  fertile  and  productive  than  their  own! 
The  Acha-ans  in  that  country,  moreover,  being  treated  by 
their  conquerors  with  greater  mildness  and  gentleness 
than  those  in  Lakonia,  were  a  comparatively  happy  people 
the  conquerors  and  the  conquered  being  united  as  one 
people,  and  all  enjoying  the  same  rights  and  privileges. 
Ihe  country,  therefore,  was  prosperous,  and  as  its  in- 
habitants cultivated  the  arts  of  peace  more  than  those  of 
war,  the  Spartans  thought  it  an  easy  matter  to  add  that 
country  to  their  dominions.      A  pretext  for  war  was 
easily  found.     Frequent  acts  of  hostility  had  been  com- 
mitted  on  both  sides  of  the  frontier,  and  a  private  wron<r 
done  by  a  Spartan  to  a  Messenian  led  to  the  outbreak  of   ■  f 

a  war  between  the  two  countries,  which  lasted  from  B.C.  :^'t/ V^f 
/43  to  724.     The  Spartans  bound  themselves  by  an  oath/ 
not  to  lay  down  their  arms  until  they  had  made  thein- 
selves  masters  of  the  country;   and  invading  it,   they 
massacred   the  defenceless  inhabitants,  and  established 
themselves  in  the  town  of  Amphia,  in  the  north-east  of 
Messenia.     The  account  we  have  of  this  war  is  full  of 
poetical  lays  and  popular  traditions.    But  it  seems  cei-tain 
that  for  several  years  the  Spartans,  sallying  forth  from 
Amphia,  ravaged  the  country  far  and  wide.    The  Messen- 
ians,  who  suffered  severely,  fortified  themselves  on  Mount 
Ithome,  and  an  oracle  promised  them  the  victory  if  they 
sacrificed  a  pure  virgin  to  the  infernal  gods.    Aristodemos, 
a  noble  Messenian,  accordingly  offered  his  dauo-hter  as  a 


36 


HISTORY    OF   GREECE. 


i 


victim  ;  and  when  the  Spartans  learned  that  the  command 

of  the  oi*acle  had  been  complied  with,  they  were  dis- 
coumged,  and  for  a  time  stopped  the  war  against  their 

neighbours.  After  some  yeai-s  the  Spartan  king  Theo- 
ponipos  again  led  an  army  into  Messenia,  and  fought  a 
great  battle  in  which  the  Messenian  king  was  killed 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  patriotic  Aristodemos,  who  was 
extremely  popular,  governed  his  kingdom  wisely,  and 
entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  Arkadians.  The  war 
was  continued  by  ravaging  inroads,  especially  at  the 
harvest  time,  when  the  Spartans  destroyed  the  crops  of 
the  Messenians,  and  thus  tried  to  reduce  them  by  famine. 
At  last,  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  Aristodemos,  a 
pitched  battle  was  fought  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Ithome, 
in  which  the  Spartans  suffered  a  great  defeat.  But  in 
the  end  the  Messenians  lost  heart  in  consequence  of  un- 
favourable oracles  and  sevei-al  successful  undertakings  of 
the  Spartans,  and  Aristodemos  in  despair  put  an  end  to 
his  life.  This  untoward  event  deprived  the  Messenians 
of  all  hope,  but  not  of  their  courage,  and  once  more  they 
made  a  vigorous  sally  from  Mount  Ithome.  But  when 
their  brave  leaders  had  fallen,  the  people  fled  from  their 
fortress,  leaving  their  lands  in  the  possession  of  the  con- 
querors, and  the  war  was  at  an  end. 

The  main  body  of  the  people  dispersed  to  their  homes, 
but  many  took  refuge  in  foreign  countries.    The  Spartans 
disposed   of  the   land   at  their  pleasure,  and   the  Mes- 
senians, who  remained  in  their  homes,  were  reduced  to 
the  condition  of  serfs,  and  had  to  pay  half  the  produce  of 
■^  ^       -/.their  fields  to  their  masters.     This  war  led  in  B.C.  708  to 
-^(^^       tfip^foundation  of  the  town  of  Tarentum  in  southern 
Italy,  the  colonists  being  the  offspring  of  marriages  con- 
-'   -^    "   /to^icted   between   Spartans   and    Lakonians   during    the 
course  of  the  Messenian  war.     The  great  rise  in  the 

power  of  the  ephors  also  appears  to  belong  to  this  period. 
While  Sparta  was  engaged  against  the  Messenians, 
Argos,  under  its  great  king  Pheidon,  not  only  recovered 
the  eastern  coast  district  of  Lakonia,  but  even  conquered 
the  island  of  Kythera.     But  fortune  foraook  Argos  after 


HISTORY  OP  GREECE. 


37 


the   death   of  Pheidon,    and  Sparte  again   became   thp 
'       ?-f -3  of  the  south  of  PeloponnesusCm  seaT  sea 
She  was  however,  not  to  enjoy  her  conquests  unLurbed 

,/-d4«  with  fables  and  poetical  tales  than  the  first  tW). 

the  war  itse  f  ia  bevond  all  dn„Kf     T  •  T         '  *°°"g« 

/to  have  rallied  J,;!  !^    f  '    ,^nstomenes  is  said 

■    a  er^r  bTtt le  W     ''°"'i*7'°«°'  and  to  have  fought  a 

a  great  battle  before  assistance  could  come  from  Sparta 

weie  lerror-struck  by  the  tmexpected  insurrection  Th» 
Messenians  .wished  to  make  Aristomenes  theTr  Wncr  but 
he  refused  the  crown,  and  one  night  he  Ts  sa  d^'u^lh 
extraordinary  daring  to  have  entered  the  city  of  Wi 

men  ?r%'''''r*''^  "  ''"^^y  i°  «'«  temple^ofACna' 
When  the  Spartans  consulted  the  oracle  of  lielnhi  fTo 

:XT  T'.*'^"*  *''^^  ^'^°"'''  «-k  an  rhen^an^olilS' 
Aristomenes  even  carried  the  war  int/i    ToV^   •  , 


I 


88 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


tlicm  like  vile  malefactors,  and  threw  tliem  into  a  deep 
pit,  called  the  Keadas.  But  the  life  of  Aristomenes  wa^ 
saved  in  a  marvellous  manner.  He  rejoined  his  men  at 
Eira,  and  after  many  adventures  and  successes,  he  some- 
how or  other  incurred  the  anger  of  the  gods.  Eiiu  had 
been  besieged  for  eleven  years,  and  was  at  last  delivered 
by  treachery  into  the  hands  of  the  besiegers.  Aristo- 
menes, with  a  few  followers,  had  forced  his  way  through 
the  besiegers,  and  escaped  into  Arkadia,  whence  aftei-waitls 
he  invaded  Lakonia,  and  was  killed,  sword  in  hand. 

After  this  war  all  the  Messenians  remaining  in  the 
country  were  reduced  to  the  condition  of  Helots ;  the 
rest  emigrated,  and  some  of  them  sailed  to  Rhegium  in 
Bouthem  Italy,  and  then  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
town  of  Zankle  on  the  opposite  coast  of  Sicily,  which  was 
henceforth  called  Messana  (the  modem  Messina). 

After  the  final  conquest  of  Messenia,  S^rta  rapidly 
rose  to  a  prominent  position  in  Greece  ;  she  began  to  inter- 
fere in  the  aflaii-s  of  other  states,  and  to  exercise  a  kind 
of  supremacy,  to  which  the  smaller  states,  wiUingly  or 
unwillingly,  had  to  submit. 


AFOXXa 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HISTORY   OF  ATHENS   DOWN   TO   THE   BEGINNING   OP   THE 

PERSIAN   WARS. 

While  Sparta  was  conquering  the  south  of  Peloponnesus 
and  extending  her  influence  over  nearly  every  part  of 
yreece,  the  history  of  Athens  presents  little  that  is  of 
interest  or  importance,  except  the  internal  strucro-les 
between  the  king  and  the  nobles,  and  between  the  nobles 
and  the  commonalty  (demos);  when  at  length  the  com- 
monalty gained  its  proper  position  in  the  state,  and 
the  government  a<jquired  a  settled  form,  Athens,  with 
unexamp  ed  rapidity,  rose  to  such  eminence  as  to  eclipse 
all  the  other  Greek  states. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  Tlieseus  was  recrarded 
a^  the  founder  of  the  Athenian  state.     Before  hi^  time 

the  country  of  Attika  is  said  to  have  been  divided  into  a 
number  of  small  and  independent  communities,  all  of 
which  were  united  by  Theseus  into  one  state,  with  Athens 
for  its  capital.  He  was,  fui'ther,  popularly  regarded  as 
the  author  of  all  the  great  political  institutions  of  the 
country.  In  the  constitution  which  he  was  believed  to 
have  framed,  but  which  in  all  probability  was  the  natural 
result  of  circumstances,  the  nobles,  called  Eupatridse  had 
all  equal  rights;  they  alone  possessed  the  powers  of 
government,  regulated  the  affairs  of  religion,  and  not  only 
made,  but  also  administered  the  laws.  The  commonalty, 
consisting  of  free  husbandmen  and  artisans,  was  entirely 


I 


\f^^ 


40 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


41 


I 


I 


under  the  control  of  the  king  and  the  nobles,  but  the 
king,  though  hereditary,  was  only  the  fii-st  among  the 

nobles. 

The  people  of  Attika,  as  in  other  ancient  states,  were 
divided  into  a  number  of  tribes  (phylse) ;  in  Attika  then 
number  was  four,  and  each  of  them  was  subdivided  into 
three  fraternities  (phratrise),  and  each  fraternity  uito 
thirty  clam  (gen6  or  gentes).  The  king  was  assisted  in 
the  government  by  a  council  of  elders  and  by  the  assembly 

of  the  nobles,  in  which  the  demos  was  not  allowed  to  take 
part.     Wherever  such  a  state  of  things  exists,  struggles 
between  the  ruling  party  and  its  subjects  will  break  out 
sooner  or  later.     In  Athens  the  first  struggles  we  hear  of 
arose  not  between  the  nobles  and  the  demos,  but  between 
the  nobles  and  the  king.     Thus,  after  the  death  of  the 
patriotic  king  Kodros,  the  nobles,  taking  advantage  of 
disputes  between  his  sons  about  the  succession,  abolished 
the  title  of  king,  substituting  for  it  the  less  venerable 
name  of  archon,  that  is,  ruler;  the  office,  however,  was 
allowed  to  remain  hereditary  in  the  family  of  Kodi-os, 
the  nobles  reserving  for  themselves  the  right  of  electing 
the  airchon.     The  person  thus  elected  held  the  office  for 
life;  but  the  nobles,  whose  ambition  was  not  satisfied 
with  this,  aimed  at  an  equal  share  in  the  sovereignty,  and 
after  twelve  archonships  for  life,  in  B.C.  752,  they  deter- 
mined to  limit  the  office  to  a  period  of  ten  years,  though 
the  archon  still  continued  to  be  chosen  from  the  descend- 
ants  of  Kodros.      This  new   arrangement  lasted   only 
«ixty-nine  years,  for  in  B.C.    683,   the  duration  of  the 
archonship  was  reduced  to  one  year,  and  at  the  same 
time,  the  powei-s  which  until  then  had  been  exercised  by  the 
one  archon,  was  now  distributed  among  nine  magistrates, 
so  that  henceforth  a  large  number  of  the  nobles  had  at 
least  a  chance  of  becoming  pai-takera  in  the  sovereignty. 
The  first  of  these  nine  archons  bore  the  title  of  the  archon, 
and  by  his  name  the  year  was  marked  in  the  annals  of 
the  country.     The  second  was  styled  king-archouy  that 
name  being  retained  for  religious  reasons,  as  he  had  to 
perform  the  religious  functions  which  had  formerly  be- 


ai 


longed  to  the  king.  The  third  archon,  called  polemarchos, 
had  the  command  of  the  army;  and  the  remaining  six 
bore  the  common  title  of  thesmotlhetce^  that  is,  expoimdera 
and  administrators  of  the  law. 

These  successive  changes  in  the  government  of  Athens 
are  almost  the  only  events  in  its  history  from  the  time  of 
Kodros  until  the  year  B.C.  683.  The  condition  of  the 
demos,  as  might  be  supposed,  was  anything  but  happy 
under  the  rule  of  ambitious  and  selfish  nobles  who  had 
long  ceased  to  be  controlled  by  the  higher  power  of  a 
king.  Their  oppression  was  felt  more  particularly  in  the 
administration  of  the  law  of  which  they  were  the  sole 
makers  and  expounders ;  and  as,  moreover,  the  laws  were 
not  written,  the  nobles  might  exercise  the  gi-eatest  license 
in  their  explanation  and  administration.  The  necessity 
of  a  written  code  of  laws  was  therefore  felt  more  and 
more,  and  in  B.c.  624,  led  to  the  appointment  of  Z^ra^owc/-^^'^^^ 
for  the  purpose  of  drawing  up  a  code  of  laws  which  all  /  '^Jj^ 
citi^^ens  might  know.  This  step  was  a  concession  which  ^ 
the  nobles  had  been  compelled  to  make  to  the  demos. 
But  the  laws  drawn  up  by  Drakon  are  said  to  have  been 
of  such  severity,  that  an  Athenian  of  later  times  declared 
them  to  have  been  written  in  blood.  According  to 
Drakon's  view,  it  is  said,  all  ofiences  were  equally  de- 
serving of  death  as  their  punishment.  This  character  of 
his  laws  rendered  him  so  unpopular  that  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  his  countiy  and  take  up  his  abode  in  the  island 
of  ^gina,  where  he  died  soon  after. 

A  legislation  like  that  of  Drakon  could  not  allay  the 
discontent  of  the  people,  who  were  now,  in  fact,  in  that 
state  of  mind  that  they  would  have  submitted  to  anything 
rather  than  to  the  arbitrary  rule  of  the  nobles.     Some  of 
the  latter,  not  slow  to  perceive  this,  entered  into  a  con-      \     /  \,^ 
si)iracy  with  the  object  of  raising  Kylmi,  one  of  their  j^/^^^'^ 
number,  to  the  position  of  tyrannos,  that  is,   a  pei'son ']'  / 
usuri)ing  the  supreme  power  in  a  free  state.     This  hap-  ^ / 
pened  in  B.C.  612.     Tyrants  were  at  that  time  springing 
up  in  several  Greek  states,  and  Kylon  could  rely  both  on 
the  popular  discontent  and  on  the  assistance  of  Theagenes, 


r  r% 


iP 


42 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


li 


/ 


tyrant  of  Megara.  Before  entering  on  any  decisive  step 
Kylon  consulted  the  oracle  of  Delphi,  and  its  ambiguous 
answer  led  him  to  commence  his  operations  on  a  wron^^ 
day  However,  with  the  help  of  his  supporters,  he  su<^ 
ceeded  in  seizing  the  akropolis  or  citadel  of  Athens,  where 
he  was  besieged  by  his  brother  nobles,  who  assembled  all 
the  forces  of  the  country  against  him.  Kylon,  being 
hard  pressed  and  despairing  of  success,  made  his  escape, 
and  his  follower  were  compelled  to  surrender  to  the 

^       archon  Megakles,  a  son  of  Alkmseon,  on  condition  that 

^t^fe"*  rf  ^^"^"^"^  ^^  ^P^*'^^-  ^^*  *^e  conquerors,  in 
Sprte  of  this  promise,  slew  the  prisoners,  and  even  killed 
^ome  who  had  taken  refuge  at  the  altar  of  the  Eumenides 

^  '.   ^''^^^^L  ^^  *^^^  sacrilege  was  committed  with  the  sanc- 

tion of  Megakles,  he  and  all  his  house  were  henceforth 
looked  upon  by  the  people  with  horror  as  accursed  per- 
sons ;  and  the  partisans  of  Kylon,  no  doubt,  fostered  this 
feeling  towards  their  enemies.  Every  misfortune  that 
henceforth  fell  upon  Athens  was  declared  to  be  a  slcm  of 
the  divme  wath  at  the  crime  of  Megakles ;  and  if  maUers 
had  been  permitted  to  go  on  in  this  way,  the  result  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  a  ten-ible  civil  war. 

In  these  circumstances,  the  government  as  well  as  the 
people  were  anxious  to  find  a  man  capable  of  allayin<r  the 
ferment  and  remodelling  the  constitution  in  a  manner  ^tis- 

rjjH(r^^^n  to  all.     That  man  was  Solon,  a  descendant  of  the 

royal  house  of  Kodros,   who  had  visited  many   forei«Ti 
lands,   everywliere  gathering  information  and  formiS^^ 
friendships  with  the  most  illustrious  persons  of  his  ao'e'' 
He  had  returned  to  Athens  soon  after  the  suppression^'of 
the  Kyloman  conspiracy,  and  found  his  country  internally 
distracted  and  so  weak  as  to  be  unable  to  resist  even  its 
weakest  neighbours.    The  Megarians  had  taken  the  island 
ot  balamis  from  the  Athenians ;  and  the  latter,  after  many 
Iruitless  attempts  to  recover  it,  had  given  up  all  hope 
and  even  threatened  with  severe  punishment  any  one  who 
should  induce  the  people  to  renew  the  war.     But  Solon, 
who  was  also  a  great  i>oet,  contrived  by  a  splendid  poem 
once  more  to  rouse  the  spirit  of  his  countrymen      The 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


43 


result  was,  that  he  himself  was  appointed  commander  of 
the  Athenian  forces,  and  in  B.C.  604,  he  succeeded  in 
driving  the  Megarians  from  Salamis.    This  victory  gi'eatly 

increased  his  power  and  influence,  and,  supported  b}^  the 
moderate  party  of  the  nobles,  he  prevailed  upon  Megakles 
and  his  associates  to  submit  their  case  to  a  court  of  arbi- 
tration.    The  court  found  Megakles  and  his  party  guilty       hk 
of  sacrilege,  and  in  B.C.  597,  all  the  descendants  of  Alk-^/2j 
majon  (the  Alkmseonids)  were  sent  into  exile.     As  this/^-^^^ 
was  not  thought  suflicient  to  propitiate  the  anger  of  the     ^^^\ 
gods,  Solon  invited  Epimenides  of  Krete,  a  person  who 
was  universally  regarded  as  a  holy  man,  and  as  possessed 
of  superhuman  wisdom.     By  certain  religious  rites  Epi- 
menides purified  the  city  to  the  satisfaction  of  all,  and 
then  returned  to  his  native  island. 

^  When  the  minds  of  the  people  were  thus  freed  from 
their  superstitious  feai-s,  Solon  was  elected  archon  for  the 
year  B.C.  594,  and  with  the  consent  of  all  paiiiies,  he 
received  full  authority  to  draw  up  a  new  constitution 
and  a  code  of  laws.  In  order  to  understand  his  legisla- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  cast  a  glance  at  the  condition  in 
which  he  found  his  country.  Many  of  the  agi-icultural 
population  had  been  reduced  to  a  st^te  of  absolute  depend- 
ence on  their  lords;  political  rights  they  had  probably 
none  at  all ;  and  the  law  of  debt  was  so  severe,  that  the 
debtor,  when  unable  to  pay  his  creditor,  might  be  seized 
and  sold  as  a  slave  into  a  foreign  countiy.  Those  who 
suffered  under  such  a  system  were  naturally  eager  for 
any  change,  while  the  nobles  wished  to  keep  things  as 
they  were.  The  shepherds  and  poor  peasants  of  the  hilly 
districts,  though  less  suffering,  were  equally  anxious  for 

a  change  that  should  secure  them  against  the  rapacity  of 
their  oppressoi*s.  The  men  of  the  coast,  mostly  merchants 
and  traders,  were  indeed  averse  to  violent  measures,  but 
still  joined  the  rest  in  demanding  such  reforms  as  would 
put  an  end  to  all  reasonable  complaints.  The  task,  there- 
fore, which  Solon  had  to  undertake,  was  of  a  twofold 
natui-e  :  he  had  first  to  relieve  the  existing  distress  of  the 
commonalty,  and  secondly  to  enact  such  laws  as  would 


41 


HISTORY    OF   GREECE. 


prevent  the  rcciuTence  of  the  same  or  similar  evils.  His 
first  measures,  accordingly,  freed  the  debtors  of  a  portion 
of  their  debts,  without  causing  any  very  serious  loss  to 
creditors,  to  restore  the  pledged  lands  to  their  ownera, 
and  to  forbid  creditors  to  seize  and  sell  the  persons  of 
their  debtors. 

Having  settled  these  most  urgent  matters,  he  abolished 
the  laws  of  Drakon,  recalled  a  number  of  exiles,  probably 
including  the  family  of  Megakles,  and  made  some  regu- 
lations about  foreigners,  many  of  whom  had  taken  up 
their  abode  in  Attika.     The  settlement  of  these  minor 
matters  was  followed  by  the  remodelling  of  the  constitu- 
tion.     Hitherto,  birth  alone  had  determined  a  man's 
rights  and  privileges,  but  Solon  now  made  landed  pro- 
perty, or  rather  the  produce  of  such  propei-ty,  the  stan- 
dard by  which  his  rights  and  duties  were   fixed.     For 
this  purpose,  he  divided  the  whole  population  of  Attika 
into  four  classes,  the  first  three  being  landed  proprietors 
possessing  more  of  less  productive  estates;   the  fourth 
class,  called  thetes,  seem  to  have  consisted  for  the  most 
part  of  free  labourers  and  artisans.     The  gi-eat  offices  of 
state  were  made  accessible  only  to  the  members  of  the 
first  or  wealthiest  class,  while  minor  offices  could,  no 
doubt,  be  held  by  men  of  the  second  and  third  classes. 
The  wealthier  a  man  was,  the  heavier  were  his  duties. 
Thus  the  men  of  the  second  class  formed  the  cavalry, 
those  of  the  third  the  heavy-armed  infantry,  and  those 
of  the  fourth  served  only  as  light  infantry,  and  at  a  later 
period  as  marines  in  the  navy.     Such  a  change,  though 
most  important  in  principle,  at  first  left  things  much  the 

same  as  they  had  been  before ;  but  a  man  of  talent  and 
industry  might,  in  the  course  of  time,  rise  from  a  lower 
to  a  higher  class,  and  thereby  become  capable  of  holding 
the  highest  offices  in  the  state.  In  the  popular  assembly, 
moreover,  the  members  of  all  the  classes  appeared  on  a 
footing  of  perfect  equality,  and  its  power  henceforth  was 
not  limited  to  accepting  or  rejecting  the  measures  that 
were  brought  before  it,  but  it  might  amend  or  modify 
them  a.s  it  thought  fit ;  and  every  man  who  had  attained 


HISTORY    OF   GREECE. 


45 


the  Qge  of  twenty,  was  allowed  to  speak  and  express  his 
opinions  upon  all  questions.  The  new  constitution 
allowed  the  magistrates  the  same  powers  which  they  had 
had  before,  but  they  were  made  responsible  for  their  acts 
to  the  assembled  people,  and  an  appeal  from  their  judicial 
verdicts  was  left  open  to  a  numerous  popular  coui-t  called 
the  Helisea. 

While  Solon  thus  made  the  democi-atic  element  very 
strong,  he  at  the  same  time  checked  its  power  by  estab- 
lishing a  senate  of  400  members,  to  which  no  man  under 
thirty  was  eligible,   and  for  which  a  cei*tain  property 
qualification  was  required.     The  senators  held  their  dig- 
nity for  only  one  year,  at  the  end  of  which  they  were 
liable  to  be  called  upon  to  render  an  account  of  their 
conduct.     The  chief  business  of  the  senate  was  to  pre- 
pare the  measures  which  were  to  be  brought  before  the 
assembled  people,  though  this  was  by  no  means  its  only 
function.     The  second  court,  likewise  intended  to  check 
the  power  of  the  demos,  was  that  of  the  Areiopagos,  which 
is  indeed  said  to  have  existed  even  in  mythical  times,  but 
seems  to  have  been  newly  organised  by  Solon,  and  to 
have  been  invested  with  political  powers.     It  is  well 
known  that  it  took  cognisance  of  murder,   maiming, 
poisoning,  and  arson. 

Solon,  fully  aware  that  no  reform,  however  good  and 
useful,  can  be  final,  but  must  be  modified  from  time  to 
time  according  to  altered  circumstances,  provided  that 
the  laws  should  be  periodically  examined  and  improved. 
His  legislation,  like  that  of  all  ancient  lawgivers,  under- 
took to  regulate  the  private  life  of  the  citizens  as  well  as 

the  affairs  of  the  state  :  hence  we  find  Solon  lavinir  down 
rules  for  the  education  of  the  young,  and  making  very 
stringent  regulations  regarding  women,  whose  education 
was  rather  discoumged  than  otherwise.  The  state  of  the 
Athenian  navy  also  engaged  his  attention,  and  the  citi- 
zens were  bound,  at  their  own  expense,  to  equip  a  fleet 
of  forty-eight  galleys.  Commerce  and  manufactures  were 
encouraged  by  inducing  foreigners  to  settle  in  Attika, 
many  of  whom  received  the  franchise,  while  others  en- 


46 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


joyed  the  protection  of  the  law  on  paying  a  small  alien 
tax.     Slavery  continued  to  exist  in  Attika  as  before, 

though  the  slaves  were  never  so  harslily  treated  as  in 
other  parts  of  Greece,  especially  at  Sparta. 
^  After  the  completion  of  his  legislation,  Solon  is  said  to 
have  left  Athens,  and  to  have  travelled  in  foreign  conn- 
tries  for  a  period  of  ten.  years,  and  to  have  become  ac- 
quainted with  Krcesus,  king  of  Lydia,  whose  pride  he  is 
rei)orted  to  have  tried  to  subdue,  by  telling  him  that  no 
man  should  boast  of  being  happy  until  he  had  reached  the 
last  day  of  his  life.  On  his  return  to  Athens,  about  B.C. 
/  562,  he  found  that  his  country  was  again  distracted  by 
^l^/Wyi  factions,  and  that  his  own  gi-eat  work  was  in  danger  of 
''  Deing  destroyed.  The  people  were  divided  into  three 
parties,  each  headed  by  one  of  the  nobles  :  they  were  the 
parties  of  the  plain,  the  hills,  and  the  coast.  The  leader 
of  the  last  was  reisistratos;  a  friend  and  kinsman  of 
Solon.  The  lawgiver  did  all  he  could  to  bring  about  a 
reconciliation,  but  it  was  of  no  avail ;  and  Peisistratos,  a 
man  of  great  ambition  and  eloquence,  had  determined  to 
make  himself  tyrant  of  Athens.  He  acted  the  part  of 
a  friend  of  the  people,  and  one  day  exhibited  some 
self-inflicted  wounds,  declaring  that  he  had  been  assailed 
by  his  enemies,  because  he  was  an  advocate  of  the  rights 
of  the  peoi)le.  By  this  stratagem,  he  prevailed  upon  the 
Y^eople  to  grant  him  a  body-guard  for  the  protection  of 
his  person,  and  with  this  force  he  took  possession  of  the 
akropolis.  Megakles,  one  of  his  rivals,  quitted  the  city, 
while  the  other,  Lykurgos,  quietly  submitted  to  the 
authoi'ity  of  the  usuq>er.     This  happened  in  B.C.  560. 

Peisistratos  continued  to  conduct  himself  as  a  simple 
citizen,  avoiding  all  outward  display  of  his  real  power. 
Solon  died  soon  after;  and  Lykurgos,  allying  himself  with 
Megakles,  succeeded  in  driving  Peisistratos  from  Athens, 
his  tyi'aimis  having  lasted  little  more  than  one  year. 
The  two  confederates  now  exercised  the  same  power  as 

Peisistratos  had  done  before,  but  each  was  jealous  of  the 
other,  and  only  thought  of  how  he  might  get  rid  of  him. 
Megakles,   linding  this  stixte  of  affairs   intolerable,    now 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


47 


entered  into  negotiations  with  the  exiled  Peisistratos, 
promising  to  do  everything  in  his  power  to  restore  him 
to  his  position,  and  even  gave  him  his  daughter  in  mar- 
riage. Peisistratos  was  brought  back  to  Athens  in  a 
manner  calculated  to  work  upon  the  superstitious  feelings 
of  the  multitude,  for  he  entered  the  city  in  a  chariot, 
having  by  his  side  a  woman  dressed  up  as  Athena,  the 
tutelary  deity  of  Athens.  However,  the  friendship 
between  the  two  confederates  did  not  last  long,  for 
Megakles,  thinking  himself  insulted  by  Peisistratos,  now 
formed  an  alliance  with  Lykurgos,  and  Peisistratos  was 
again  driven  out  of  Athens.  He  went  to  Eretria  in 
Euboea,  where  he  would  have  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life  in  peace,  had  not  his  eldest  son,  Hippias,  urged  him 
on  to  fresh  efforts.  He  accordingly  made  preparations 
for  invading  Attika,  and  formed  connections  with  tyrants 
in  other  parts  of  Greece.  After  an  exile  of  ten  years,  he 
landed  with  an  army  at  Marathon.  His  enemies,  whose 
government  had  not  been  particularly  popular,  marched 
out  to  meet  him,  but  were  utterly  defeated.  Peisistratos 
at  once  proclaimed  an  amnesty  on  condition  that  his 
enemies  should  quietly  disperse.  This  act  disarmed  all 
further  opposition,  and  Peisistratos  now  entered  Athens 
as  undisputed  master,  while  his  rivals  Lykurgos  and 
Megakles  had  to  go  into  exile. 

Peisistratos  now  adopted  every  means  pennanently  to 
secure  his  usurped  power ;  he  surrounded  himself  with  a 
body  of  foreign  mercenaries,  and  sent  the  children  of  his 
adversaries  as  hostages  to  the  island  of  JSTaxos.  At  the 
same  time  ho  gained  the  goodwill  of  the  poorer  classes 
by  affording  them  occupation  in  the  erection  of  many 
public  works,  both  useful  and  ornamental.  By  these  and 
other  means,  he  maintained  his  position  without  any  fur- 
ther interiniption  for  fourteen  years,  until  his  death  in  b.c. 
527.  Still  he  was  not  unmindful  of  what  might  happen* 
and  in  order  to  secure  a  place  of  refuge  in  case  of  need,  he 
p,ve  the  town  of  Sigeum,  which  he  took  from  the  Mity- 
ieneans,  to  a  natural  son.  In  his  administration  he 
maintained  the  laws  of  Solon.     The  exf>enses  incurred  by 


.  48 


HISTORF    OF    GREECE. 


tlie  erection  of  temples  and  public  buildings  were  defi'ayed 
by  means  of  taxes  levied  on  the  wealthy  for  the  purpose 
of  benefiting  the  poorer  citizens.  It  is  further  stated, 
that  he  was  the  first  to  collect  the  Homeric  poems ;  he 
certainly  had  a  taste  for  literature,  for  he  was  the  firet 
Greek  who  established  a  public  library.  Taking  all  in 
all,  it  must  be  owned  that  he  made  good  use  of  his 
usurped  power;  and  there  are  few  citizens  to  whom 
Athens  owed  a  gi'eater  debt  of  gratitude. 

The  mild  rule  of  Peisistratos  had  become  so  popular 
among  the  Athenians,  that  his  three  sons  were  allowed, 
without  hesitation,  to  exercise  the  same  power  as  their 
father.  Had  they  been  as  wise  as  he,  and  remembered 
that  they  held  only  a  usurped  power,  Athens  might  for 
generations  have  been  quietly  governed  by  the  descendants 
of  Peisistratos.  Hippias,  the  eldest,  was  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  and  neither  he  nor  his  brothei-s  scrupled  to  resort 
to  violent  measures  against  those  whose  enmity  or  in- 
fluence they  feared.  At  last  an  event  occurred,  which  led 
to  the  overthrow  of  the  government,  and  an  important 
change  in  the  constitution.  Harmodios,  a  young  Athen- 
ian, had  been  insulted  by  Hipparchos,  one  of  the  three 
brothers,  and  being  joined  by  his  friend  Aristogeiton,  he 
determined  to  have  his  revenge.  The  two  resolved  to 
OA  erthrow  the  Peisistratids,  and  the  festival  of  the  Pan- 
athensea  was  fixed  upon  as  the  day  for  carrying  out  their 
design.  It  was  in  the  year  B.C.  514,  that  the  two  con- 
spiratora  with  their  friends,  during  the  solemn  procession, 
attacked  the  sons  of  Peisistratos.  Hipparchos  was  killed 
in  the  fmy,  but  Harmodios  also  fell ;  and  Aristogeiton, 

with  many  of  his  friends,  was  aiTcsted  and  put  to  death. 
After  this  occurrence,  which  revealed  to  Hippias  the 
unpopularity  of  his  family,  he  was  toi-tured  by  fear  and 
suspicion,  which  led  him  to  put  to  death  many  whom  he 
suspected,  and  to  increase  the  taxes  for  the  sake  of  aug- 
menting his  personal  revenue.  He  also  tried  to  strengthen 
himself  by  alliances  with  other  tymnts,  and  gave  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  the  tyrant  of  Lampsjikos,  a  friend 
of  the  Kin<:  of  Pei*sia. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


49 


But  all  was  of  no  avail ;  Hippias  became  daily  more 
nnpopular,  and  the  exiled  Alkmajonids,  perceiving  this, 
determined  to  return  to  their  country  and  drive  out  their 
rivals.     Kleisthmes,  who  now  headed  their  party,  secured 
the   support   of   the   Delphic   oracle,    by   extraordinary 
liberality;   and   whenever   the   Spartans   consulted   the 
oracle,  they  were  told  that  they  must  free  Athens  from 
its  tyrants.     These  repeated  commands  at  length  induced 
the  Spartans  to  send  an  army  into  Attika.   The  mercenaries 
of  Hippias  were  defeated,  and,  alarmed  by  this  misfortune, 
he  sent  his  children  out  of  the  country,  but  they  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spartans,  who  consented  to  restore 
them  only  on  condition  of  Hippias  quitting  Attika.     The 
demand  was  complied  with,  and  in  B.C.    510,  Hippias 
proceeded  to  Sigeum,  and  all  the  members  of  the  family 
of  Peisistratos  were  banished  for  ever,  while  Harmodios 
and  Aristogeiton  received  almost  divine  honours  as  the 
liberators  of  their  country. 

Kleisthenes,  who  thus  rose  to  the  head  of  affairs,  like 
Peisistratos,  attached  himself  to  the  popular  party,  and 
planned  a  reform  of  the  constitution,  which  was  to  break 
the  power  of  the  nobles  for  ever.     With  the  consent  of 
the  commonalty,  and  the  sanction  of  the  Delphic  oracle, 
he  abolished  the  four  ancient  tribes,  and  divided  the 
whole  of  Attika   into  ten  districts,    also   called   tribes, 
each  of  which  was  subdivided  into  a  number  of  de^ni 
each  with  a  town  or  village  for  its  centre,  and  each  demos 
was  governed  by  a  magistrate  called  demarc/ws.     Ko  one 
could  be  an  Athenian  citizen  unless  he  was  a  member  of 
one  of  these  demi     The  commonalty  thus  obtained  an 
entirely  new  organisation,  and  was  enabled  to  shrike  off 
the  yoke  of  the  nobles.     The  senate  was  increased  from 
400  to  500,  and  thus  became  the  representative  of  the  ten 
tribes,  each  furnishing  fifty  members.    The  popular  assem- 
hly  henceforth  met  regulariy  four  times  in  every  month. 
Kleisthenes  is  further  said  to  have  established  the  process 
of  05^mcwm,  whereby  any  person  might  be  sent  into  exile, 
who  by  his  influence  and  popularity,  seemed  to  l)e  dan- 
gerous to  popiUar  liberty. 


60 


HISTORY  OP  GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


61 


The  nobles  naturally  looked  upon  these  reforms  as 
revolutionary,  and  contrived  to  win  over  the  Spartans,  who 
at  all  times  supported  an  aristocratic  against  a  democratic 
government.  They  accordingly  sent  a  message,  demand- 
ing of  the  Athenians  to  banish  the  accursed  race  of  the 
Alkmseonids;  and  Kleisthenes,  in  order  not  to  involve 
his  country  in  a  war  with  the  powerful  state  of  Sparta, 
withdrew  from  Athens.  But  the  Spartan  king,  not 
satisfied  with  this,  and  bent  upon  raising  Isagoras,  the 
bitterest  opponent  of  Kleisthenes,  to  the  tyrannis,  in- 
vaded Attika,  banished  700  families  marked  out  by 
Isagoras,  and  was  making  arrangements  for  putting  the 
government  of  the  country  into  the  hands  of  a  few  nobles. 
But  this  scheme  was  resisted  by  the  people  of  Athens 
with  all  their  might,  and  the  Spartan  king  and  his 
adherents  were  besieged  in  the  akropolis.  After  a  few 
days  they  were  obliged  to  suiTender,  but  the  king  and 
Isagoras  were  allowed  to  depart  unmolested,  while  their 
Athenian  partisans  were  put  to  death,  and  Kleisthenes 
returned  to  Athens  in  triumph,  B.C.  608. 

The  Spartan  king,  deeply  vexed  at  this  defeat,  formed 
alliances  with  the  Boeotians,  Korinthians,  and  Chal- 
kidians,  and  determined  to  invade  Attika  a  second  time  ; 
but  as  the  Korinthians  felt  ashamed  of  what  they  were 
expected  to  do,  and  refused  to  join  in  the  expedition,  the 
undertaking  had  to  be  given  up.  The  Athenians  in  their 
distress  had  endeavoured  in  vain  to  obtain  the  assistance 
of  Persia ;  but  when  their  enemies  had  withdrawn,  they 
set  about  chastising  the  Boeotians  and  Chalkidians, 
against  both  of  whom  they  were  successful ;  and  Athens, 
being  now  freed  from  domestic  and  foreign  enemies, 
became  strong  and  powerful  in  the  enjoyment  of  political 
freedom,  and  made  such  rapid  progress  that    soon    she 

outstripped  all  her  rivals. 

Her  foreign  enemies,  however,  were  only  hushed  for  a 
time  ;  the  Boeotians  were  secretly  burning  with  the  desire 
to  avenge  their  defeat,  and  for  this  purpose  allied  them- 
selves with  the  island  of  iEgina,  an  ancient  enemy  of 
Athens,  and  possessed  of  a   powei-fid  navy.      The   war 


. 


which  was  thus  commenced,  taught  the  Athenians  the 
necessity  of  increasing  their  fleet ;  it  lasted  for  about  fifty 
years,  until  in  B.C.  456,  -^gina  was  conquered,  and  its 
navy  destroyed. 

Meanwhile  the  Spartans,  who  had  discovered  that  they 
had  been  imposed  upon  by  the  Delphic  oracle,  which  had 
induced  them  to  assist  in  the  expulsion  of  the  Peisistra- 
tids,  invited  Hippias  to  return.  A  congress  of  Sparta 
and  all  her  allies,  was  called  upon  to  consider  the  means 
by  which  the  return  of  Hippias  might  be  efiected.  At 
this  congress  the  Korinthian  envoy  declared  that  it  was 
an  unworthy  proceeding  to  impose  a  tyrant  upon  a  free 
people,  and  his  eloquence  was  so  impressive  that  all  the 
other  deputies  declared  against  the  scheme,  which  had 
therefore  to  be  abandoned.  Soon  after  this  Hippias  went 
to  the  court  of  Persia,  and  endeavoured  to  stir  up  its 
king  to  a  wai'  against  his  own  country. 


▲THKHA. 


1^ 


ATBX^IAK  com. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NATIONAL   INSTITUTIONS — COLONIES — LITERATURE   DOWN 

TO   THE   PERSIAN  WARS. 

Before  proceeding  to  give  an  account  of  the  momentous 
struggle  between  Europe  and  Asia,  which  was  to  decide 
whether  the  south-east  of  Europe  was  to  remain  free  or 
become  a  province  of  an  Asiatic  empire,  we  wUl  cast  a 
glance  at  some  of  the  national  institutions  of  the  Greeks, 
their  numerous  colonies,  and  the  progress  of  literature 
since  the  days  of  Homer. 

^  It  has  already  been  observed  that  the  Greeks  at  no 
time  formed  one  compact  state,  and  that  the  country  was 
divided  into  a  number  of  small  states,  among  which 
Sparta,  after  the  Dorian  conquest,  became  the  largest  and 
most  influential.  The  only  bond  of  union  among  them 
was  their  language  and  their  religion,  though  even  these 
presented  considerable  differences  in  the  different  parts 
of  the  country.  But  there  existed  from  early  times  cer- 
tain associations  for  religious,  and  in  part  also  for  political, 
purposes,  which  acquired  at  least  the  appearance  of 
national  confederations.  The  most  important  of  them 
bore  the  name  of  AmpMktyonies — that  is,  unions  of 
several  tribes  with  a  common  centre,  generally  a  temple, 
at  which  meetings  were  held  at  stated  times.  The  most 
celebrated  was  the  Amphiktyony  of  Delphi,  which  held 
its  meetings  in  the  spring  at  Delphi,  and  in  the  autumn 
at  ThermojiylaB.     Its  objects  were  to  guard  the  temi)le  of 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


53 


^ 


Delphi,  and  to  prevent  cruelty  and  violence  in  war ;  but 
this  latter  object  appears  to  have  been  completely  lost 
sight  of,  for  we  hear  of  cases  in  wliich  the  members  of 
the  league  inflicted  on  each  other  the  worst  evils  of  war. 
Thus  the  town  of  Krissa,  which  had  deserved  the  censure 
of  its  confederates,  was  punished  by  a  war  which  lasted 
for  ten  years,  at  the  end  of  which,  in  B.C.  585,  it  was 
razed  to  the  ground,  while  its  harbour  was  choked  up, 
and  the  sun-ounding  country  changed  into  a  wilderness. 

A  second  class  of  national   institutions  consisted  of 
festive  games,  celebrated  at  certain  places  and  at  fixed 
times,  and  open  to  all  the  Greeks  in  whatever  part  of  the 
world  they  lived.     The  most  famous  among  them  were 
the  Olympic  Gamesy  which  were  celebrated  every  four 
years  at  Olympia  in  Elis.    They  are  said  to  have  existed 
at  a  very  early  period,  and  after  a  long  interruption  to 
have  been  renewed  in  B.C.  776,  after  which  time  they 
were  regularly  held  every  four  years,  and  that  date  was 
employed  by  the  Greeks  as  a  chronological  era.     During 
the  days  of  these  games  there  was  a  cessation  of  all 
hostilities  among  the  Greeks,  to  enable  them  to  proceed 
to  Olympia   without  fear  or  danger.     The  games  con- 
sisted of  races  on  foot,  and  with  horses  and  chariots, 
contests  in  leaping,  wrestling,  and  boxing ;  but  combats 
with  weapons  were  strictly  excluded.    Nearly  every  kind 
of  bodily  skill  and  activity  was  displayed  in  those  games, 
and  to  gain  a  victory  in  any  of  the  contests  was  regarded 
as  the  highest  honour  not  only  to  the  victor  himself,  but 
to  the  whole  community  to  which  he  belonged,  though 
the  prize  consisted  in  a  simple  garland  of  the  wild  olive. 
The  arts  of  poetry  and  sculpture  received  strong  nourish- 
ment at  these  exhibitions,  for  the  victory  often  inspired 
a  poet  to  lofty  lyric  effusions,  as  in  the  case  of  Pindar ; 
and  statues  of  the  victors  were  often  erected,  not  only  at 
Ol3anpia,  but  also  in  their  native  places.     Literary  pro- 
ductions also  are  said  to  have  been  occasionally  recited  at 
these  gatherings   to   the   assembled  Greeks.     However, 
although  all  Greeks  might  take  pai-t  in  the  games,  the 
feeling  of  national  unity  does  not  appear  to  have  been 


bi: 


HISTORY  OF   GREECE. 


created  by  them,  but  they  seem,  on  the  contrary,  to  have 
tended  rather  to  foster  a  narrow  local  patriotism. 

The  form  of  government  universally  established  in  the 
earliest  times  was  that  of  monarchy,  limited  by  ancient 
custom,  and  by  powerful  chiefs  or  nobles.  But  during 
the  three  or  four  centuiies  after  the  Trojan  war,  the  title 
of  king  was  abolished  in  nearly  all  parts  of  Greece,  and 
in  every  case  the  power  of  the  nobles  was  increased, 
and  took  the  place  of  that  of  the  kings.  The  causes 
of  this  change  must  be  looked  for  mainly  in  the  energy 
and  versatility  of  the  Greek  mind,  which  prevented  the 
people  from  becoming  stationary,  or  stopping  short  in 
any  career  before  it  had  passed  through  every  stage  of  it. 

The  change  was  rarely  brought  about  by  a  revolution, 

but  was  generally  effected  by  a  succession  of  reforms 
which  gradually  placed  all  the  powers  in  the  hands  of  the 
nobles.  The  great  body  of  the  people,  the  commonalty, 
continued  to  increase  in  number ;  while  the  nobles,  in 
consequence  of  their  exclusivenees,  were  ever  decreasing, 
and  everywhere  endeavoured  by  force  and  violence  to 
keep  the  commonalty  in  subjection,  and  check  its  growth. 
But  all  their  endeavours  were  vain.  It  sometimes  be- 
came necessary  to  make  a  compromise  with  the  com- 
monalty, or  to  appoint  some  person  in  whom  all  had 
confidence,  to  restore  order  and  tranquillity.  We  have 
seen  how  in  Attika  the  power  of  the  aristocracy  was 
overthrown  by  dissensions  among  themselves,  and  how 
one  of  their  body,  by  coming  forward  as  a  champion 
of  the  commonalty,  raised  himself  to  the  position  of 
tyrant;   and  what   happened   at   Athens   was  more   or 

less  the  same  as  what  occurred  in  other  states  of 
Greece. 

We  have  already  related  how,  in  consequence  of  the 
migrations  in  Givjce,  three  large  groups  of  colonies  were 
founded  on  the  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  adjacent 
islands.  But  the  restless  and  migratory  spirit  of  the 
Greeks  did  not  stop  short  there.  The  countries  which 
next  attracted  their  attention  were  the  south  of  Italy, 
which,    on   account    of    its   numerous    Greek    colonies, 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


55 


i 


obtained  the  name  of  Magna  Graecia,  and  the  island  of 
Sicily.  The  country  of  Kyrene,  on  the  north  coast  of 
Africa,  also  received  Greek  colonists;  and  even  the  south 
coasts  of  France  and  Spain,  as  well  as  the  shores  of  the 
-^gaean,  the  Propontis,  and  the  Euxine,  were  covered 
with  Greek  settlements.  In  short,  there  was  scarcely  a 
country  round  the  basin  of  the  Mediteri-anean  that  was 
not  influenced  and  benefited  by  the  mild  genius  of  Greek 
culture  and  civilisation;  and  many  of  the  more  prosperous 
colonies  became  the  founders  of  others  far  away  from  the 
mother  country. 

Many  of  the  Greek  colonies,  such  as  the  lonians  in 
Asia  Minor,  made  even  more  rapid  progress  in  literature 

and  the  ai-ts  of  peace  than  the  Greeks  in  the  mother 

country.  It  was  in  Ionia  that  temples  of  great  splendour 
were  erected  at  an  early  period,  and  that  the  art  of 
casting  metal  statues  was  invented.  Sculpture  in  marble 
came  into  extensive  use  in  consequence  of  its  connection 
with  architecture,  the  temples  and  other  public  buildings 
being  sumptuously  adorned  with  statues  and  figures  in 
relief.  The  custom  of  honoui-ing  victors  in  the  public 
games  with  statues,  likewise  contributed  greatly  towards 
the  rapid  advancement  of  the  art  of  sculjjture,  in  which 
the  Greeks  have  never  been  surpassed  by  any  other 
nation. 

The  development  of  literature  after  the  days  of  Homer 
steadily  continued,  and  the  epic  poetry  of  that  age 
embraced  the  whole  of  the  legendary  history  from  the 
origin  of  the  world  to  the  close  of  the  heroic  age.  Lyric 
poetry  also  was  no   doubt   cultivated  at  a   very  early 

period,  though  we  have  no  specimens  of  it  as  ancient  as 
Homer;  when,  however,  epic  poetry  was  dying  out,  it 
rapidly  reached  its  highest  perfection.  But  unfortunately 
all  the  works  of  the  Greek  lyric  poets  have  perished, 
except  the  odes  of  Pindar. 

The  few  fragments  we  possess  of  this  species  of  poetry 
are  sufficient  to  justify  the  admiration  in  which  they 
were  held  by  the  Greeks  themselves.  Lyric  poetry 
among  the  Dorians  and  -^olians  was  chiefly  of  a  religious^ 


56 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


57 


martial,  or  political  character,  while  with  the  others  it 
was  more  of  a  sentimental  nature.  The  most  illustri- 
ous among  the  lyric  poets  were  Archilochos,  IIipp(maXf 
Alkceos,  Anakreon,  Ibijkoa,  MimnermoSy  and  Sappho, 
Literature  in  prose  did  not  commence  till  about  the 
beginning  of  the  Persian  wars. 

The  religion  and  poetry  of  the  Greeks  amply  testify 
that,  from  the  earliest  times,  they  were  of  an  inquisitive 
disposition,  trying  to  fathom  the  profoundest  and  sublimest 
problems.      About  the  middle  of  the  sixth  centmy  a 
number  of  men  are  mentioned,  called  the  Seven  Sages, 
who  were  not  speculative  philosophers,  but  men  actively 
engaged  as  statesmen,  legislators,  or  magistrates.    About 
the  same  time,  some  of  the  bolder  spirits  were  led  to 
inquire  after  a  first  cause  of  the  phenomena  of  the  uni- 
vei-se.     The  most  ancient  among  them  was  TJialeSy  of 
Miletus,  a  contemporary  of  Solon,  who  maintained  that 
moisture  was  the  origin  of  all  things.     He  was  succeeded 
by  his  countryman,  Anaocimenes,  who  timght  that  air  was 
the  universal  source  of  life;  while  UerakkitoSy  of  Ephesus, 
attributed  the  same  power  to  heat.     We  thus  see  that 
these  infant  philosophers  attempted  to  solve  problems 
which  still  baffle  philosophers  of  our  own  time.     Another 
school  of  philosophy  arose  at  Elea,  in  the  south  of  Italy, 
the  founder  of  which,  XenophaneSy  based  his  system  upon 
the  assimiption  of  a  supreme  intelligence ;   while  his 
successors  struck  out  into  new  paths  of  inquiry.     It  is 
remarkable  that  these  Eleatic  philosophers  expounded 
tlieir   systems   in  verse.      The  most  celebrated   of  the 
western  schools  of  philosophy  was  that  founded  by  PytJui- 
gorasy   of  Samos,  about  b.c.  570.     He  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  to  assume  the  title  of  philosopher — that  is, 
lover  of  wisdom.     He  was  great  as  a  mathematician,  and 
several  mathematical  discoveries  are  attributed  to  him. 
He  also  taught  the  immortality  of  the  soul  in  the  form 
of  transmigration,   similar   to   that   maintained   by  the 
Indian  Brahmins.      He  is  said  to  have  much  travelled 
in  foreign  countries,  and  on  his  return  to  have  settled 
at  Kroton,  in  Italy,  where  he  formed  a  society  of  the 


noblest  young  men,  through  whom  he  hoped  to  exercise 
an  influence  over  all  the  Greek  colonies  in  Italy,  and 
to  establish  an  aristocratic  or  oligarchic  form  of  govern- 
ment. But  this  scheme  failed;  the  commonalty  rose 
against  the  selfishness  of  the  nobles,  and  the  house  in 
which  the  followers  of  Pythagoras  were  assembled  was 
destroyed  by  fire  in  rc.   504,  when  many  of  them 

perished.  Pythagoras  himself  is  said  to  have  escaped  to 
Metapontum,  and  to  have  died  there  soon  after.  The 
overthrow  of  the  Pythagorseans  was  followed  in  all  the 
towns  of  southern  Italy  by  the  establishment  of  demo- 
cratic forms  of  fjovernment. 


k 


OLl3ir2A>'  ZEU9i 


i 


it 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


59 


A  GREEK  SHIP. 


CHAPTER  YL 

THE  PERSIAN  WARS  DOWN  TO  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE 

SUPREMACY  OF  ATHENS. 

The  Greek  colonies  along  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor  were 
exposed  to  the  danger  of  being  attacked  and  subdued  by 
the  great  despotic  monarchies  of  the  East.     The  kingdom 
that  was  nearest  to  them  waa  that  of  Lydia,  whose  kings 
conquered,  one  after  another,  the  Greek  cities;  and  in 
the  reign  of  Kroesus,  the  last  Lydian  king,  all  had  to 
acknowledge  his  authority.     But  he  had  a  gi*eat  love  and 
admiration  of  the  Greeks,  and  allowed  the  cities  to  man- 
age their  own  affairs  very  much  as  they  pleased,  so  that 
they  felt  his  rule  scarcely  in  anything  else  than  the  neces- 
sity of  paying  tribute  to  him.     Kroesus  himself  at  last 
became  involved  in  a  war  with  Kyros,  the  founder  of  the 
Persian  monarchy,  who  made  Kroesus  his  captive,  and 
himself  master  of  Lydia,  including  the  Greek  colonies, 
B.C.  546.    The  Greek  cities  would  have  readily  submit- 
ted to  their  new  conqueror,  if  he  had  granted  them  the 
same  terms  as  Kroesus  had  done ;  but  as  he  demanded 
unconditional  surrender,    they   resolved   to   resist   him. 
Some  seeing  that  they  could  not  hope  to  be  successful  in 
the  unequal  struggle,  emigrated  with  all  they  possessed 
to   distant   shores,  establishing  themselves   at  Massilia 
(Marseilles)  and  Rhegium  (Reggio),  and  at  Abdera  in 
Thrace.     The  rest  of  the  Asiatic  Greeks  were  subdued, 
one  after  another,  by  the  lieutenants  of  Kyros,  and  had 


f 


to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Persia.  But  the  rule  of 
the  new  masters  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  more 
oppressive  than  that  of  the  Lydians ;  for  they,  too,  did 
not  much  interfere  with  the  Greeks,  so  long  as  they  paid 
their  tribute  regularly.  The  Asiatic  Greeks  therefore 
continued,  without  much  molestation  from  Persia,  to 
live  in  peace  and  prospeiity  until  the  reign  of  Darius, 
the  third  Persian  king,  when  they  allowed  themselves 
to  be  enticed  by  an  unprincipled  adventurer  into  open 
rebellion  against  their  rulers,  and  thereby  also  involved 
the  mother  country  in  a  war  with  Pei-sia. 

During  a  gigantic  expedition  against  the  Scythians,  in 
the  plains  between  the  Danube  and  the  Don,  King 
Darius  and  his  army  had  been  saved  by  HisticeoSy  a 
Greek  tyi-ant  of  Miletus,  and  on  his  return  home  the 
king  had  rewarded  him  by  giving  him  a  large  tract  of 
coimtry  on  the  river  Strymon  in  Thrace,  while  AristagoraSy 
a  cousin  of  Histiaeos,  succeeded  him  as  tyrant  of  Miletus. 
JMeanwhUe  the  lieutenants  of  Darius  conquered  Thrace, 
and  reduced  the  Greek  colonies  on  its  coast,  together 
with  the  neighbouring  islands.  Even  Amyntas,  king  of 
Macedonia,  did  homage  to  Eersia,  whose  king  does 
not  seem  as  yet  to  have  enteiiained  any  thought  of 
making  himself  master  of  Greece;  he  pursued  his  con- 
quests in  the  East;  and  about  the  year  b.c.  505,  his 
empire  extended  from  the  borders  of  India  to  the  -^gaean 
Sea,  including  Thrace  and  Macedonia. 

Meanwhile  Histiaeos  drew  upon  himself  the  suspicion 
of  trying  to  form  for  himself  an  independent  principality 
in  Thrace ;  and  Darius,  to  thwart  this  scheme,  invited 
him  to  come  to  Persia,  pretending  that  it  was  his  desire 
to  have  such  a  valuable  friend  near  his  person.  But 
Histiaeos  soon  discovered  that  in  reality  he  was  kept  in 
Persia  as  a  captive.  He  could  discover  no  means  of 
escaping  except  by  an  insurrection  of  his  countrjrmen, 
for  which  there  appeared  just  then  a  favom-able  ©impor- 
tunity. 

^The  assistance   of  his   cousin  Aristagoras   had   been 
sought  by  the  aristoci*atic  party  of  the  island  of  Naxos, 


60 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


who  had  been  expelled  by  the  people  ;  and  believing  that 
tuis  circumstance  afibrded  him  a  ftiir  chance  of  making 
hunself  master  of  the  island,  he  applied  for  aid  to  Arta- 
phernes,  the  king's  satrap  or  governor  of  Western  Asia. 
Ihe  satrap  being  told  that  the  island  might  easily  be 
conquered,  and  that  Aristagoras  would  bear    all    the 
expenses     a   large  fleet  under  a  Persian  axlmiral    was 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  Ai'istagoras,  and  all  seemed  to 
promise  we  1.     But  soon  a  quarrel  arose  between  Arista, 
goras  and  the  admiral,  and  the  latter  avenged  himself  by 
giving    the   Kaxians   wai-ning   of  their   dan^rer        The 
consequence  was  the  utter  failure  of  the  undertaking 
and  Aristagoras  had  to  return  to  Miletus  without  ha^dn';r 
eflected  anything.     As  he  was  now  unable  to  make  good 
his  promise,  he  knew  that  his  doom  was  sealed.      While 
pondering  what  he  should  do  to  save  himself,  he  received 
a  message  from  Histiajos,  who  was  utterly  disgusted  with 
his  captivity       Aristagoras  assembled  all  those  whom  he 
knew  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  rule  of  Persia,  todeliber- 
ate  about  the  manner  in  which  they  might  shake  off  the 
detested  yoke;  and  in  order  to  make  himself  popular 
among  his  countrymen,  he  not  only  resigned  his  o^vn 
tyranius  bivt  caused  the  tyrants  of  other  cities  who  were 

h-iendly  to  Persia  to  be  arrested. 

Having  gone  thus  far,  Aristagoras  resolved  to  seek  the 

assistance  of  the  Greeks  of  the  mother  country.     He  firet   ■ 

applied  to  Sparta  where  by  large  promises  he  was  on  the 

point  of  gaming  his  end,   when  the  king,  warned  by  his 

little  daughter,  declined  having  anything  to  do  with  the 

matter.       He  was  more  successful  at  Athens,  where  it 

had  become  known  that  the  Persian  king  intended  to 

reinstate    the    exiled   tyrant   Hippias.      The   Athenian 

people  resolved  to  send  a  fleet  of  twenty  ships  to  support 

tneir  Asiatic  kinsmen.    The  little  squadron,  accompanied 

by  hve  galleys  from  Eretria  in  Euboea,  set  sail  L  b.c. 

4  J9,  and  bemg  strengthened  on  their  arrival  in  Asia  by 

many  lonians,  they  marched  straightway  against  Sardes. 

1  ho  Persian  governor  of  the  place  took  refuge  in  the 

strong  citadel.       ITie  Greeks  then  plundered  the  lower 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


61 


city  and  set  it  on  fire,  and  being  unable  to  take  the  citadel, 
they  returned  to  Ephesua.  Contrary  to  their  expecta- 
tions, they  were  pursued  by  the  Persian  satrap,  who  had 
assembled  a  large  force,  and  utterly  defeated  them  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Ephesus,  whereupon  the  lonians 
dispersed,  and  the  Athenians  and  Eretrians  returned 
home. 

When  Darius  was  informed  of  this,  he  was  thro^\^l 
into  a  violent  passion,  more  on  account  of  the  pre- 
sumption of  the  obscure  strangers  who  had  supported  his 
rebellious  subjects  than  by  anything  else,  and  he 
commanded  one  of  his  slaves  daily  to  remind  him  of  the 
Athenians.  Meanwhile  the  insurrection  of  the  lonians 
was  spreading  more  and  more ;  and  Histiseos  cunningly 
prevailed  upon  the  king  to  send  him  down  to  Ionia, 
which  he  promised  to  quiet  without  difficulty.  The 
Pei-sian  generals  reduced  the  revolted  cities  one  after 
another ;  and  when  Aristagoi-as  despaired  of  success,  he 
withdrew  into  Thrace,  where  soon  afterwards  he  was 
murdered.  Histiseos,  on  his  arrival  in  Asia  Minor,  was 
suspected  of  having  had  a  hand  in  the  revolt,  and  hence 
thought  it  advisable  to  escape  to  the  island  of  Chios, 
where  he  formed  the  plan  of  putting  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  Greeks ;  but  being  universally  distrusted,  he  led 
for  a  time  the  life  of  a  homeless  adventurer.  At  last  he 
collected  a  small  fleet  with  which  he  levied  black-mail  on 
all  the  merchant  ships  of  the  cities  which  refused  to 
recognise  him  as  the  sovereign  of  Ionia. 

The  rebellion  of  the  lonians  was  in  the  meantime 
drawing  to  its  close.  The  Greeks  were  disunited  among 
themselves,  and  were  defeated  in  B.C.  494 ;  and  the  year 
folloAving  saw  all  the  Greek  cities  brought  back  under 
the  Persian  sway,  but  in  some  instances  the  inhabitants, 
from  fear  of  the  conquerors,  left  their  homes  and  estab- 
lished themselves  at  Mesembria  on  the  coast  of  the 
Euxine. 

After  this  unsuccessful  insun-ection,  the  Asiatic  Greeks 
were  treated  with  much  greater  severity  than  before; 
order  and  peace  were   restored,    but   theii-  freedom   was 


62 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


gone.  Mardonius,  the  successor  of  ArtapLernes,  however, 
somewhat  relaxed  the  severity,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
had  orders  to  chastise  Athens  and  Eretria  for  their  pre- 
sumption. A  large  fleet  was  sent  out  against  them,  but  was 
overtaken  by  a  violent  storm  near  Mount  Athos,  in  which 

300  ships  and  20,000  men  are  said  to  have  perished  ;  while 
the  land  army,  commanded  by  Mardonius  himself,  was 
attacked  on  its  march  through  Thrace,  and  suffered  such 
great  losses  that  Mardonius  thought  it  best  to  return  to 
Asia.  These  disasters,  however,  did  not  shake  the 
determination  of  Darius.  He  assembled  fresh  forces  and 
sent  heralds  to  the  chief  cities  of  Greece  to  demand  eai-th 
and  water,  the  customary  signs  of  submission.  At 
Athens  and  Sparta  the  envoys  were  put  to  death,  but 
-^gina  and  several  other  islands  and  cities  complied  with 
the  demand,  in  consequence  of  which  the  Athenians 
charged  ^gina  at  Sparta  with  high  treason  against  the 
cause  of  Greece.  The  Spartans  then  sent  a  force  against 
the  -^ginetans,  who  were  compelled  to  deliver  up  ten  of 
their  leading  men  as  hostages  to  the  Athenians.  This 
led  to  a  succession  of  acts  of  hostility  between  Athens 
and^gina,  while  the  Persians  were  making  preparations 
for  invading  Europe. 

^  In  B.C.  490  a  large  Persian  fleet  assembled  in  Kilikia 
under  the  command  oi Datis  and  Artaphemes,  and  havin<y 
taken  the  army  on  board,  sailed  towards  Eubcea,  com- 
pelling the  islands  during  its  progress  to  submission. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  Persians  at  Eretria,  the  town  was 
besieged,  and  as  some  traitors  in  the  place  opened  the 
gates  to  the  enemy,  Eretria  was  plundered  and  set  on 
fire,  while  its  inhabitants  were  taken  prisoners  and 
transported  as  slaves  into  Asia. 

After  this  the  whole  fleet,  guided  by  Hippias,  sailed 
towards  the  coast  of  Attika,  and  the  army  was  landed  on 
the  plain  of  Marathon.  As  soon  as  this  became  known 
at  Athens,  all  men  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  even 
slaves  willing  to  earn  their  liberty,  declared  their  readiness 
to  defend  the  country.  A  messenger  was  at  the  same  time 
sent  to  Spai-ta  to  solicit  assistance  against  the  common 


HISTORY  OP   GREECE. 


63 


foe.  But  the  Spartans,  feeling  themselves  pretty  secure, 
dismissed  him  with  promises  of  future  help,  alleging 
some  superstitious  reason  for  their  not  setting  out  at 
once.  The  Athenians,  undismayed  by  this  want  of  sym- 
pathy, resolved  to  attack  the  invaders,  having  no  other 
allies  than  a  body  of  Platseans,  their  ancient  friends. 
The  army  was  commanded  by  ten  geneials,  one  of  whom 
was  Miltiades,  but  the  polemarchus  Kallimachos  was 
at  their  head.  A  discussion  arose  among  them  as  to 
whether  battle  should  be  given  at  once,  or  whether  they 
should  wait  for  the  arrival  of  the  Spartans.  Miltiades, 
seeing  the  danger  of  delay,  convinced  his  colleagues  of 
the  necessity  of  attacking  the  enemy  at  once.  When  the 
signal  was  given,  the  Athenians  rushed  with  irresistible 
force  upon  the  barbarians,  who  at  first  looked  with  con- 
tempt upon  the  small  number  of  their  assailants.  But 
they  soon  found  themselves  in  close  combat,  and  by  the 
skilful  management  of  Miltiades  they  were  utterly  routed 
and  defeated.  They  fled  in  the  utmost  confusion  back  to 
the  shore,  and  thousands  of  them  perished  either  in  the 
battle,  or  in  the  marshes,  or  in  the  attempt  to  reach  their 
ships.  The  Persian  fleet  then  sailed  southward,  with  the 
intention  of  doubling  Cape  Sunion  and  attacking  Attika 
from  the  west.  But  the  Athenians,  who  had  foreseen 
this,  promptly  moved  towards  the  point  of  danger,  so 
that  when  the  Persian  fleet  arrived,  the  Athenians  were 

ready  to  receive  the  enemy.  Thus  baffled  in  their  expec- 
tation, they  gave  up  all  further  attempts  against  Greece 
and  returned  to  Asia,  B.C.  490. 

The  battle  of  Mai-athon,  in  which  the  Athenians 
almost  single-handed  had  defeated  a  countless  host  oi 
barbarians,  filled  their  minds  with  a  noble  and  just 
pride,  and  made  them  conscious  of  their  own  strength. 
When  the  battle  was  over,  the  Spartans  arrived  with  a 
small  force,  but  it  was  too  late,  and  they  had  to  return 
home  with  a  feeling  of  shame  that  they  had  not  done 
their  duty,  and  had  no  share  in  the  glorious  achievement 
which  saved  Greece  from  becoming  a  province  of  an 
Asiatic  despotism.     The  fate  of  Miltiades,  who  had  led 


u 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF  GREECE. 


65 


his  army  to  victory,  was  a  sad  one,  but  probably  not 
undeserved.  Elated  by  his  success,  he  prevailed  upon 
his  countrymen  to  furnish  him  with  a  considerable  fleet, 
with  which  he  promised  to  increase  their  dominions. 
But  his  real  object  was  the  chastisement  of  some  private 
enemy.  In  this  he  failed,  and  being  moreover  wounded 
in  the  knee,  he  was  obliged  to  return  home  without 
having  effected  anything.  Being  accused  of  having  led 
the  people  into  useless  expenses,  he  was  sentenced  to  pay 
a  fine  of  fifty  talents  (about  £9000) ;  and  as  he  was 
unable  to  raise  that  sum,  he  was  thrown  into  prison, 
where  soon  after  he  died  of  his  wound. 

The  defeat  sustained  by  the  Persians  at  Marathon  only 
incited  their  king  to  greater  exertions,  for  he  believed 

that  the  misfortune  was  owing  only  to  his  having  sent 
insufficient  forces  into  Europe;  he  therefore  now  resolved 
to  make  the  Greeks  feel  the  whole  weight  of  his  arm. 
For  three  years  preparations  were  made  throughout  his 
vast  dominions,  when  suddenly  his  attention  was  diverted 
by  an  insurrection  of  Egjrpt,  which  was  then  a  Persian 
province,  and  before  he  was  able  to  suppress  the  revolt, 
he  died  in  B.C.  48 G.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Xerxes,  who  managed  to  reduce  Egypt  in  the  second 
year  of  his  reign.  A  fresh  invasion  of  Greece  was  now 
resolved  upon,  and  the  whole  of  Asia  was  again  ransacked 
for  a  period  of  four  years,  to  assemble  as  large  a  force  as 
possible.  A  bridge  of  boats  was  constructed  across  the 
Hellespont,  and  a  canal  was  dug  across  the  low  isthmus 
of  Mount  Athos,  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  sailing  round 
the  promontory  where  the  fleet  of  Mardonius  had  been 
wrecked. 

In  the  spring  of  B.C.  480,  Xerxes  set  out  from  Pardes 
with  an  army  consisting,  it  is  said,  of  nearly  2, 000, (00  of 
men,  including  nations  of  all  colours,  costumes,  arms,  and 
languages.  They  crossed  the  Hellespont  at  Abydos,  and 
marched  along  the  cotist  through  Thi'ace  and  Macedonia, 
towards  Thessaly;  while  the  fleet,  consisting  of  1207 
triremes,  and  3000  smaller  vessels,  sailed  along  the  same 
coasts  aoc  ^mpany ing  the  army. 


«> 


All  tnie  patriots  felt  that  their  safety  depended  upon 
union ;  but  nearly  all  the  northern  states,  partly  over- 
awed by  fear,   and  partly  compelled  by  their  ruling 
nobles,  submitted  to  the  demands  of  the  enemy.     The 
Phokians  aiid  the  Boeotian  towns  of  Thespise  and  Platase 
alone  remained  faithful  to  the  cause  of  Greece.     Athens 
and   Sparta,   however,   with  the    greater    part  of   the 
Peloponnesians,    exerted    themselves   to   the   utmost   to 
meet  the  impending  danger.    The  leading  man  in  Athens 
then  was  Tliemistohhs^  distinguished  for  his  extraordinary 
quickness  in  perceiving  what  had  to  be  done  in  any  given 
emergency,  to  ensure  a  definite  end.     His  rival  in  popu- 
larity was  AristideSj   a   man  who  by  his  honesty  and 
disinterestedness  had  obtained  the  surname  of  the  Just. 
Both  men  loved  their  coimtry  intensely,  but  Aristides's 
love  was  pure  and  simple,  while  Themistokles  wished  to 
make  Athens  great  in  order  that  he  himself  might  com- 
mand in  a  large  sphere.    Two  such  men  could  not  but  come 
into  collision  with  eaeh  other ;  and  in  B.C.  483,  Themis- 
tokles contrived  to  get  Aristides  banished  by  ostracism, 
whereby  he  was  left  in  the  undivided  possession  of  the 
popular  favour.     Themistokles,  seeing  the  necessity  of 
increasing  the  Athenian  navy,  prevailed  upon  the  people 
to  forego  the  advantages  they  received  from  the  silver 
mines  of  Laurion,  and  to  devote  them  to  the  strengthen- 
ing of  their  navy.     The  number  of  their  ships  of  war 
was  thereby  increased  to  200 ;  and,  under  the  guidance  of 
its  able  leader,  Athens  became  a  maritime  power. 

While  the  two  leading  states  were  making  every  eflTort 
to  meet  the  enemy,  the  want  of  union  among  the  rest  of 
the  Greeks  was  most  deplorable.  Themistokles  spared  no 
trouble  to  silence  disputes  and  brace  the  energy  of  his 
countrymen ;  and  it  was  owing  to  his  influence  that  the 
friends  of  liberty  assembled  at  Korinth,  where  they 
bound  themselves  by  an  oath  to  defend  their  country  and 
to  consecrate  to  the  Delphic  god  a  tenth  of  the  substance 
of  every  state  which  had  surrendered  to  the  enemy  with- 
out being  forced  by  necessity.  A  small  band  of  Pelopon- 
nesians was  sent  to  stop  the  progress  of  the  Persians  in 


66 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


the  pass  of  ThermopylcB ;  and  the  fleet,  commanded  by 

Eurybiades,  took  up  a  position  at  the  northern  entrance 
of  the  EubcEan  channel,  near  a  place  called  Artemision. 

The  Persian  fleet  in  its  southward  course  was  over- 
taken by  a  violent  storm  which  lasted  for  three  days, 
during  which  400  ships  and  innumerable  lives  were  lost. 
However,  this  disaster  was  scarcely  felt  by  the  huge 
armada,  and  Themistokles  with  difficulty  prevented  the 
Greek  fleet  from  dispersing.  But  at  length  the  Greeks 
boldly  sailed  out  to  attack  the  enemy,  and  a  general 
engagement  ensued,  in  which  the  unwieldy  mass  of  the 
enemy's  ships  was  thrown  into  confusion  and  sustained 
great  loss.  The  Greeks,  however,  also  sufiered  much, 
and  they  now  resolved  to  retreat,  because  news  reached 
them  about  what  had  happened  at  Thermopylae. 

The  small  band  which  had  been  sent  there  to  bar  the 
progress  of  the  Persians,  was  commanded  by  the  Spartan 
king,  Leonidas.  His  whole  force  consisted  of  300  Spar- 
tans, and  a  few  thousands  from  other  parts  of  Greece. 
There  was,  however,  a  path  across  the  mountain  by 
which  the  pass  could  be  evaded,  which  fact  was  at  first 
unknown  to  Leonidas.  But  when  it  was  discovered,  he 
despatched  the  Phokians  to  occupy  the  heights.  He  had 
great  difficulty  in  keeping  the  rest  of  his  men  together, 

for  they  were  terrified  at  the  countless  hosts  of  barbarians  ; 
and  Xerxes  was  not  a  little  astonished,  when  he  heard 
that  the  small  number  of  Greeks  were  awaiting  his  attack 
in  all  composure.  But  assault  after  assault  proved  fruit- 
less ;  many  of  the  barbarians  were  slain,  and  Xerxes  was 
beginning  to  despair,  when  Ephialtes,  a  treacherous 
Greek,  betrayed  to  him  the  path  across  the  mountains. 
When  Leonidas  heard  of  this,  he  allowed  his  allies,  who 
wished  it,  to  depart ;  but  he  himself  and  his  Spartans 
were  determined  to  defend  their  post.  Only  the  Thes- 
pians and  400  Thebans  remained  with  him.  When  the 
Peraians  apj)eared  on  the  heights,  the  Phokians  withdrew  ; 
and  soon  after  the  Persians  appeared  at  the  southern 
entrance  of  the  pass,  so  that  the  Greeks  in  it  were  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides.     Leonidas,  however  and  his  men 


HISTORY   or   GREECE. 


67 


were  resolved  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible. 

Several  times  the  Persians  were  repulsed,  until  at  last 
the  Spartans,  being  surrounded  on  a  hillock,  were  all 
slain  by  the  darts  of  their  assailants.  All  were  afterwards 
buried  on  the  spot  where  they  had  fallen,  and  a  suitable 
inscription  recorded  their  heroism.  The  battle  of  Ther- 
mopylae was  fought  in  the  summer  of  B.C.  480,  and  the 
Persians  are  said  to  have  lost  20,000  men. 

The  hostile  army  now  advanced  southward,  devastating 
everything*  that  came  in  its  way.  The  temple  of  Delphi, 
the  treasures  of  which  attracted  the  barbarians,  is  said  to 
have  been  miraculously  saved,  for  a  fearful  thunderstorm 
burst  upon  them,  and  huge  rocks  rolling  down  from 
Mount  Parnassus  crushed  many  of  them,  in  consequence 
of  which  they  were  terror-stricken  and  retraced  their 
steps.  The  army  then  proceeded  through  Boeotia  towards 
Attika ;  and  the  Athenians,  who  had  in  vain  hoped  for 
assistance  from  Peloponnesus,  on  the  suggestion  of  Tlie- 
mistokles,  sent,  to  consult  the  god  of  Delphi  as  to  what 
they  should  do.  The  answer  of  the  god  was,  that  they 
must  defend  themselves  behind  their  wooden  walls.  This 
mysterious  advice  gave  rise  to  many  conjectures  as  to  its 
meaning,  but  Themistokles  of  course  had  no  difficulty  in 
explaining  the  oracle,  and  told  the  people  that  they 

must  defend  themselves  by  their  fleet.  This  explanation 
satisfied  the  people,  and  the  Athenians  with  their  allies 
sailed  from  Artemision  to  Salamis.  On  the  advice  of 
Themistokles,  the  Athenians  further  resolved  to  leave 
their  city  to  the  protection  of  Athena,  its  tutelary  divinity, 
and  to  transport  their  families  and  movable  property  to 
Salamis,  -^gina,  and  Troezen. 

The  Greek  fleet  assembled  at  Salamis  consisted  of  380 
ships,  and  it  was  the  almost  unanimous  opinion  that  it 
should  take  up  a  position  near  the  isthmus,  where  it 
might  co-operate  with  the  Peloponnesian  army.  But 
Themistokles,  being  convinced  that  the  safest  plan  was 
to  receive  the  hostile  fleet  in  the  narrow  strait  of  Salamis, 
and  finding  that  his  arguments  had  no  effect,  at  last 
threatened  that  he  and  all  Athenians  would  sail  away 


68 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


C9 


and  establish  themselves  in  another  country.     This  threat 
produced  some  effect,  but  as  he  still  feared  lest  the  Pelo- 
ponnesians  should  change  their  minds,  lie  resolved  to  bring 
on  the  decisive  contest  as  soon  as  possible.     He  assumed 
the  mask  of  a  traitor,  and  sent  a  trusty  slave  to  the  Per- 
sian admiral,  to  tell  him  that  the  Greeks  were  on  the 
point  of  dispersing,  and  that,  if  he  attacked  them  at  once, 
he  would  gain  an  easy  and  complete  victory ;  whereas,  if 
he  allowed  them  to  disperse,  he  would  have  to  fight 
against  them  one  by  one.    This  stratagem  succeeded,  and 
the  following  night  the  channels  which  separate  Salamis 
from  Attika  and  Megara  were  blocked  up  by  the  Persian 
fleet.      In   the  meantime  Xerxes  had   oveiTun  Attika, 
spreading   devastation    over   the    whole    country.       The 
lower  part  of  the  city  of  Athens  was  taken  and  destroyed, 
and  the  few  men  stationed  in  the  akropolis  were  easily 
overpowered,  and  the  place  was  set  fire  to.    It  was  the 

terrible  sight  of  these  devastations  that  made  the  Greek 
commanders  doubt  the  propriety  of  remaining  united  at 
Salamis ;  but  the  ruse  of  Themistokles  forced  them  to 
fight  before  they  had  time  to  disperse. 

When  the  enormous  fleet  of  the  enemy  had  entered 
the  channels,  and  was  pent  up  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
ships  could  hardly  move,  the  Greeks  began  the  attack. 
Xerxes,  seated  on  a  lofty  throne  on  the  coast,  was  viewing 
the  great  naval  contest,  expecting  to  witness  the  com*^ 
plete   annihilation  of  the    Greeks.      But  he   was   soon 
undeceived.      The  confusion  among  the  Persian  ships 
became   so  gi-eat  that  it  was  impossible  to  distinguish 
friends   from   foes,    while   the  nimble   triremes  of   the 
Greeks   performed   marvels   of  skill   and   bravery.     The 
battle  lasted  the  whole  day,  until  towards  evening  the 
remamder  of  the  Persian  fleet  withdrew  to  the  port  of 
Phaleron.     The  barbarians  are  said  to  have  lost  on  that 
day    500    ships,    and    the    Greeks   only  forty.     Xerxes, 
though  he  still  had  a  sufficient  force  to  continue  the  con 
test,  felt  that  such  another  defeat  would  be  ruinous  and 
accordingly  resolved  to  retreat ;  but  he  left  behind'  him 
Mardonius,  who,  with  his  land  ai-my  of  300,000  men, 


♦ 


promised  speedily  to  conquer  the  whole  of  Greece. 
Xerxes  himself  now  prepared  to  return  across  the  Helles- 
pont. 

When  the  Persian  fleet  quitted  the  Saronic  gulf  and 
sailed  northward,  the  Athenians,  not  considering  it  safe 
to  pursue  the  enemy,  contented  themselves  with  chastis- 
ing the  islands  which  had  supported  the  invaders ;  and 
Themistokles  hurried  the  king's  flight,  by  sending  a  mes- 
senger to  inform  him  that  the  Greeks  intended  to  break 
down  the  bridge  across  the  Hellespont.  When  the  king 
arrived  at  Sestos,  the  bridge  had  already  been  destroyed 
by  storms,  but  the  fleet  carried  him  and  his  followers 
safely  into  Asia.  Mardonius  had  accompanied  his  master 
as  far  as  Thessaly,  where  he  intended  to  take  up  his 
winter  quarters.  The  fame  of  Themistokles,  whose  wis- 
dom and  prudence  had  gained  the  victory  of  Salamis, 
resounded  through  all  Greece,  and  even  the  Spartans 
honoured  him  in  the  same  way  as  their  own  adrmi^al. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Salamis,  which  had  been 
fought  late  in  the  summer  of  B.C.  480,  the  Athenians 
returned  to  their  city,  and  in  the  spring  began  to  rebuild 
their  houses,  and  to  repair  the  damage  done  to  their 

fields;  but  at  the  same  time  they  did  not  lose  sight  of  the 
enemy,  for  they  knew  that  Mardonius  with  his  army  was 
still  in  Thessaly,  and  that  a  large  fleet  was  still  in  the 
-^ga^an.  Mardonius  formed  a  plan  to  detach  Athens 
from  the  other  Greeks,  by  offering  a  separate  peace  and 
alliance  with  Persia.  But  the  manly  answer  of  the 
Athenians  was,  that  so  long  as  the  sun  held  on  its  course 
there  could  be  no  alliance  between  them  and  Pei-sia. 
Mardonius  thereupon  marched  southward,  and  was  zeal- 
ously supported  by  the  Thessalians  and  Boeotians.  On 
his  approach  the  Athenians  again  left  their  city,  and 
withdrew  with  their  families  to  Salamis.  Mardonius 
again  tried  to  negotiate  with  them,  but  with  no  better 
result  than  before.  The  Spartans,  instead  of  joining 
Athens  against  the  common  enemy,  at  first  thought  only 
of  protecting  themselves  by  fortifying  the  isthmus  of 
Korinth,  but  at  length  Fausanias,  the  guardkn  of  the 


70 


IIISTOKY    OF    GREECE. 


young  king,  Pleistarchos,  was  ordered  to  lead  an  army  of 
6000  men  into  Bceotia.    Mardonius,  after  having  ravaged 
Attika  m  every  direction,  likewise  marched  into  Bceotia 
Where  he  hoped  to  be  supported  by  the  Thebans  and 
other  Boeotians. 

JjThQ  ^^Q^^^rmj  had  in  the  meantime,  it  is  said,  been 
Raised  to   110,000  men,  and  the  Athenian  forces  were 
commanded  by  Aristides,  who  had  been  recalled  from  his 
honourable  exile.     For  many  days  the  armies  were  facing 
each  other  engaging  only  in  petty  skirmishes  and  man- 
ceuyres.     At  last  Mardonius  resolved  to  venture  upon  a 
decisive  battle.     The  Greeks  having  received  secret  infor- 
mation of  his  design,  prepared  for  the  fight  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Pht<^^,     In  this  battle,  which  took  plax^e  in 
B.C.  479,  the  Persians  at  first  fought  bmvely,  but  Mardon- 
ius was  mortally  wounded,  and  his  fall  decided  the  issue 
of  the  contest.     The  Persians  gave  way  at  once,  and  a 
body  which  was  coming  to  their  support,  hastily  returned 
northward  to  gain  the  Hellespont;  the  Greek  auxiliaries 
dispersed,  and  only  the  Boeotians  continued  to  fight  a-ainst 
the  Athenians.    The  Persians  at  last  shut  themselves°up  in 
their  camp   and  despair  paralysed  them  to  such  a  de-ree, 
that  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  slaughtered  without  a 
struggle  and  only  3000  of  them  are  said  to  have  escaped 
alive.     An  immense  amount  of  booty  was  found  in  their 
camp,  which  Pausanias,  the  hero  of  the  day,  ordered  to  be 
collected;  a  tenth  part  of  it  was  dedicated  to  the  gods,  and 
a  splendid  present  was  selected  for  Pausanias 

The  Persians  who  had  fled  to  the  HeUespont  reached 
Asia  m  safety,  and  Greece  was  now  completely  delivered 
from  Its  foreign  invaders.  The  next  step  was  the  cha.s- 
tisement  of  those  Greeks  who  had  supported  the  enemy. 
Ihe  Greek  army  accordingly  advanced  to  the  gates  of 
Thebes,  demanding  the  suiTcnder  of  the  guUty,  and  as 
the  demand  was  refused,  the  city  was  blockaded  for 
twenty  days,  after  which  the  offenders  surrendered  them- 
selves, and  most  of  them  were  ordered  by  Pausanias  to  be 
put  to  death  without  a  trial.  This  was  his  first  arbitrary 
and  tyrannical  act,  which  was  soon  to  be  followed  by  otheri 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


71 


In  the  meantime  the  Greek  fleet  under  the  Spartan 
king,  LeotychideSj  was  stationed  among  the  Kyklades, 
watching  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  Its  assistance 
was  sought  by  the  Samians  against  their  own  tjrant, 
a  zealous  supporter  of  Persia.  When  Leoty chides  ap- 
proached, the  Persians,  leaving  their  friend  unprotected, 
sailed  towards  the  mainland,  where  they  joined  the  land 
army  stationed  near  Mount  Mykak,  to  keep  the  lonians 
in  subjection.  The  Greeks  pursued  them,  and  called 
upon  the  lonians  to  cast  off"  the  Persian  yoke.  A  battle 
ensued,  in  which  the  Asiatics  were  completely  routed, 
and  the  carnage  among  them  was  fearful.  The  Greeks, 
after  collecting  the  booty,  returned  to  Samos.  The  battle 
of  Mykale  was  fought  and  won  on  the  same  day  as  that 

of  Platseae. 

As  Greece  and  the  islands  were  now  safe,  it  was 
thought  advisable  for  the  present  to  let  the  lonians  in 
Asia  make  the  best  terms  they  could  with  Persia,  and 
Leotychides  with  the  Peloponnesians  sailed  home;  but 
the  Athenian  fleet,  under  the  command  of  Xanthippos, 
sailed  to  the  north,  and  laid  siege  to  Sestos,  where  many 
Persians  of  rank  were  living.  In  the  spring  of  B.C.  478 
they  were  induced  by  famine  to  try  to  make  their  escape, 
but  many  of  them  were  overtaken  and  put  to  death, 
whereupon  the  inhabitants  opened  their  gates,  and  Xan- 
thippos  with  his  fleet  now  likewise  sailed  home. 

The  city  of  Athens  had  been  changed  into  a  heap  of 
ruins,  and  the  firat  care  of  those  returning  home  was  to 
rebuild  their  private  houses,  the  restoration  of  the  temples 
being  deferred  to  another  season.  The  leading  men, 
TJiemistokles  and  Aristides,  being  resolved  to  provide 
for  the  immediate  and  future  security  of  the  city,  ordered 
the  walls  to  be  rebuilt  and  extended.  The  Spartans, 
looking  with  jealousy  upon  the  new  fortifications  of 
Athens,  tried  to  stop  its  progress  by  intimating  that 
Peloponnesus  would  always  be  a  sufficiently  safe  refuge 
for  all  Greeks,  if  their  country  should  ever  be  invaded 
again.  But  Themistokles,  who  saw  through  their  selfish 
scheme,  thwarted  it  in  a  very  ingenious  manner,  and  not 


72 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


£C«  t't  If  ,'  ^"'I'fi^^"""^  of  the  city  and  its  tlir^ 
iwrDours,  but  made  Peiraeeus  a  port  town,  where  mim-r 

W>PJS!     .^  *^^  Athenian  law.     Athens  thus  went 

Sot,  «.?;<£' ~ar.r "» '•'°»- ""  "" 

chief  command  was  intnisted  to  Pa«.a«ta.,  wW k  tht 

the  ^,ana,  ^'A^l^l'-^T^^^.Z^^^J^^ 
the  Persians  were  likewise  compelled  to  evaeuatT'  ^ 
Buccesses  seem  to  have  txu^ed  L  £  ^f  p'lij"^:: 
he  now  began  to  a^opt  the  manners  of  the  Pe^r^'an] 
treated  h.s  Greek  allies  with  overbearing  Lsol^ce      Hp 

mto  the  hands  of  the  Peraians,  Ld  to  ask  forX  hand 
of  Xerxes's  daughter  a.  a  rewanl.    The  Greek^  es'iZ 
the  lonians,  were  the  more  disgusted  with  hi^  cSct 
as  It  formed  a  strong  eonti^t  with  the  Hndly  and  wt' 
nmg  proceedings  of  the  Athenian  commaBde.r    Thk 

Jfc^r"^'^.  *^«  ^'^^'  *°  th«  resZtioL  to  place 
tttZnttr'''"''  I'i'terto  occupied  by  Spait,  and 


HISTORY   OP  GREECE. 


73 


the  head  of  the  Peloponnesian  allies,  so  that  henceforth 
Cxreece  was  divided  into  two  great  confederacies.  Athens 
maintained  her  proud  position  for  about  seventy-two 
years,  until  the  end  of  the  Peloponnesian  war. 

The  organisation  of  the  Athenian  confederacy  was  the 
last  and  noblest  work  of  Aristides,  but  he  is  also  said  to 
have  been  the  author  of  some  important  political  reforms, 
by  which  the  archonship  and  the  council  of  the  Areiopagos 
were  thro^Ti  open  to  all  Athenians,  irrespective  of  any 
property  qualification.  He  died  in  the  enjoyment  of 
the  full  confidence  which  his  countrymen  had  alwavs 
placed  in  him.  "^ 

^   Very  difierent  was  the  fate  of  Pausamas  and  T/iem- 
istokks.     The  former,  after  his  recall  to  Sparta,  was  sub- 
jected to  a  severe  inquiry;  but  as  no  satisfactory  evidence 
ot  his  guilt  was  produced,  the  accusation  was  dropped. 
He   then  went  to   Byzantium,  where  he  carried  on  his 
intrigues  with  Peraia  so  openly  that  the  authorities  felt 
obliged  again  to  order  him  to  retiu^  home.     As  again  he 
could  not  be  convicted,  he  was  set  free,  and  now  tried  to 
incite  the  Helots  to  a  rebellion.     At  the  same  time  he 
continued  his   treasonable   correspondence   with  Persia 
untU  at  last  he  was  denounced  by  one  of  his  own  slaves! 
VVTien  by  a  cunning  contrivance  the  magistrates  succeeded 
in  hearing  the  truth  from  his  own  lips,  they  tried  to 
arrest  him ;  but  he  fled  into  a  temple  of  Athena,  and  the 
magistrates,  in  order  not  to  pollute  the  sanctuary  with 
blood,  ordered  the  entrance  to  be  walled  up,  and  left  him 
there  to  be  starved  to  death.     When  he  was  on  the  point 
of  expiring,  he  was  carried  out  of  the  temple  and  died 
outside  the  sacred  precincts,  in  b.c.  461. 

The  fate  of  Pausanias  involved  that  of  Themistokles. 
He  too  had  become  proud  and  indiscreet;  but  what  made 
him  most  unpopular  was  his  selfishness  and  avarice,  of 
which  some  signs  had  appeared  immediately  after  the 
battle  of  Salamis.  Kumerous  enemies  therefore  rose 
against  him,  and  he  was  banished  by  ostracism  as  a 
I)erson  dangerous  to  popular  liberty.  He  withdrew  to 
Argos,  where  he  v/as  residing  at  the  time  when  Pausanias 


74 


UlSTORK^   OF   GREECE. 


was  convicted.     The  Spartans,  who  bore  him  a  grnd^-re 
ever  since  the   fortification    of  Athens,  alleged  that  m 
their  inquiry  about  Pausanias,  it  had  been  found  that 
Themistokles  also  was  implicated  in  the  plot,  and  they 
demanded  that  the  Athenians  should  punish  him  accord- 
ingly.    Although  no  evidence  was  then  or  ever  after  pro- 
duced of  his  guilt,  his  enemies  at  Athens  carried  a  decree 
that  he  should  be  arrested.     Themistokles  fled  to  Epirus, 
and  thence  to  Pydna,  where  he  took  ship  for  Asia.     Soon 
after  his  arrival  there,  Xerxes  died,  B.C.   465,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Artaxerxes.       Themistokles  went   to  the 
king's  court,  and  succeeded  in  persuading  him  that  he  had 
claims  upon  his  gratitude,  and  that  his  present  misfortune 
was   the   consequence   of  his   zeal  for   the   interests  of 
Persia.     He  became  a  great  favourite  at  the  court,  and 
the  king  at  last  sent  him  down  into  Asia  Minor,  assign- 
ing to  him  the  revenues  of  three  wealthy  towns  for  his 
maintenance.     He  thus  spent  the  last  years  of  his  life 

in    princely  splendom\       The    manner    of  his    death    is 
uncertain. 


.\|j 


ATHENIAN     AKROPOLIS" 

mm/M. 


IM- V>    OF   AKROPOMS   0»  ATUENW, 


PERIKLSa. 

CHAPTER  VIL 

tHE  SUPREMACY   OF   ATHENS  DOWN  TO  THE  COMMENCEMENT 
OF  THE  PELOPONNESIAN  WAR. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  Themistokles  iTmon  was  the 
^ost  Uuential  man  in  Athens.  He  belonged  to  the 
aristocratic  party,  but  did  not  scruple  *"  de-en^j^*;  *t 

•Srand\?3rea'S  M^  tH^y  a  Uh 

SfahS^C^&f=S 

Vev^  Xed  to  submit  to  the  supremacy  of  Athe^^s 
?hX  J^  was  besieged  and  conquered  by  K^o"- j'^^ 
xneir  WW  ,,fniost  severitv  ;  and  instead  ot  being 

,treated  it  with  the  utmosTi  seventy  ,  .,,  rpy 

L«  oiw  it  now  became  the  subject  ot  i^tnens.  -^"^» 
I- S  mig^t  ^^^^^^^t.'^^  irVSshJw-S 
r  ,t:  oTtllet^Xnir tome  of  th'e  allied  sUtos 
commuted  their  perso^l  Be-ices  for  paym^^s  of  mon^ 
1  4.  +i.^;».  ^Ah^  WIS  not  much  bettered  theieby,  lor  xne^ 
£  SX  wilt  s'pWt,  and  Athens  acqui^-ed  as  much 
power  over  them  as  over  her  subjecra. 


76 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


77 


In  B.C.  465,  Kimon  gained  a  brilliant  victory  over  a 
large  Persian  fleet  stationed  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Eurymedon,  in  Pamphylia ;  he  then  sailed  up  the  river 
and  also  routed  the  enemy's  land  forces.     On  his  return 
to  the  sea,  he  utterly  destroyed  a  Persian  squadron  which 
was  coming  too  late  to  strengthen  the  Persian  fleet.    After 
this  treble  victory,  he  sailed  north  and  drove  the  last  rem- 
nants  of  the  Persians   from  the  Thracian   Chersonesus. 
While  Kimon  was  in  the  north  of  the  ^goean,  the  Athen- 
ians became  involved  in  a  war  with  the  island  of  Thasos 
about  the  gold  mines  in  Thrace.      The  Thasians  applied  to 
Sparta  for  assistance,  and  the  latter  was  making  prepara- 
tions for  invading  Attika,  when  suddenly,  in  B.C.  464, 
Lakonia  was  visited  by  a  terrible  calamity.     During  an 
earthquake,  masses  of  rock  rolling  down  from  Mount 
Taygetos  spread  terror  and  devastation  far  and  wide.     In 
Spai-ta  only  five  houses  are  said  to  have  been  left  stand- 
ing, and  upwards  of  20,000  persons  were  killed.     Ami4 
this  teiTible  visitation,  the  Helots  and  Messenians  seized 
the  opportunity  of  avenging  themselves  upon  their  hard 
masters.     The  Thasians  had,  of  course,  to  be  left  to  their 
fate,  and  became  the  subjects  of  Athens.     The  Messenians  | 
fortified  themselves  on  Mount  Ithome,  and  as  the  Spar- 
tans were  unable  to  reduce  them,  they  did  not  blush  tcj 
send  for  assistance  to  Athens,  against  which  they  ha( 
just  been  preparing  an  expedition.     The  aristocratic  part^ 
at  Athens  was  at  all  times  favoumble  to  Sparta,  and  asl 
it  was  just  then  all  powerful,  Kimon  was  sent  out  with 
a  large  force  to  besiege  Ithome.     But  as  he  was  not  more 
successful  than  the  Spartans  themselves  had  been,  they 
began  to  suspect  his  honesty,  and  dismissed  him  with  his  I 
army.     The  Athenians,  feeling  this  insult  most  keenly, 
broke  ofi*  all   connection  with  Sparta,   and   formed   an 
alliance  with  Argos.     Meanwhile  the  war  against  the' 
Messenians  was  carried  on  for  nearly  ten  years,  until,  in 
B.C.  455,  they  were  compelled  to  surrender  on  condition  that 
they  should  leave  their  country  for  ever.     The  Athenians 
kindly  assigned  to  the  unfortunate  exiles  the  town  of 
Naupaktos,  where  they  settled,  waiting  for  better  times. 


The  democratic  party  at  Athens  was  then  Leaded  by 
Perikles,  a  son  of  Xanthippos,  who  as  an  orator,  states- 
man, and  general  far  surpassed  all  his  contemporaries. 
While  Kimon  was  engaged  in  his  military  expeditions, 
Perikles  took  an  active  part  in  the  discussions  of  the 
popular  assembly.  He  became  the  leader  of  the  demos,  and 
a  formidable  opponent  of  Kimon  and  his  brother  nobles. 
Perikles,  even  if  he  had  had  the  wealth  of  Kimon,  would 
have  disdained  using  it  to  increase  his  popularity.  He 
considered  it  more  honourable  that  the  poorer  classes 
should  be  supplied  with  the  means  of  enjoyment  out  of 
I,  their  own,  than  to  be  dependent  on  wealthy  nobles.     He 

I  and  his  friends,  among  whom  the  honest  Ephialtes 
deserves  to  be  specially  mentioned,  carried  a  series  of 
measures  which  enabled  the  poor  to  take  part  in  public 
life  and  public  enjoyments.  He  coui-ted,  indeed,  popular 
favour,  but  never  descended  to  low  or  demagogic  expedi- 
ents. .     ,    1  , 

The  contest  between  the  two  parties  had  been  gomg  on 

for  some  time,  but  it  came  to  a  head  when  Perikles  and 
Ephialtes  tried  to  limit  the  functions  of  the  Areiopagos 
so  much  as  to  leave  to  it  nothing  but  its  venerable  name. 
The  aristoci-acy  was,  of  course,  most  bitterly  exasperated, 

II  but  as  just  at  this  time  Kimon  was  slighted  by  Sparta, 
I  he  and  the  whole  aristocracy  became  very  unpopular,  and 
I  the  measiu-e  of  reducing  the  power  of  the  Areiopagos  was 

easily  carried.  Soon  after  this,  Kimon  was  banished  by 
ostracism.  . 

About  the  year  B.C.  460,  an  Athenian  fleet  was  lymg 
off  Kyprus,  when  Inarus  and  a  great  part  of  Egypt  re- 
volted against  Persia.  Inarus  asked  for  the  assistance  of 
the  Athenian  fleet,  which  at  once  sailed  southward  and 
enabled  him  to  defeat  the  Persians.  The  fleet  then  sailed 
up  the  Nile  to  Memphis,  which  the  Athenians  besieged 
for  five  years,  after  which  they  were  compelled  by  large 
Persian  reinforcements  to  withdraw,  and  being  sur- 
rounded in  an  island  of  the  river,  they  were'  nearly  all 

slain.  . 

While  the  Athenian  fleet  was  still  engaged  in  Egj'pt, 


IS 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


79 


the  rupture  with  Sparta  involved  Athens  in  a  war  with 
Koiinth,    which    was    joined    by    -^gina    and     several 
Argive   towns.      Notwithstanding  the  absence  of  their 
forces  in  Egjrpt,  the  Athenians  attacked  their  enemies 
with    undaunted  courage,   and  utterly  defeated  them. 
Myronides,  who    was   then  the  soul  of  all  the  military 
undertakings   of  the   Athenians,  gained  so  complete   a 
victory  over  the  Korinthians  that  their  whole  army  was 
destroyed.     This  Korinthian  war  and  the  hostile  spirit 
of  Sparta,  together  with  the  fact  that  there  existed  at 
Athens  a  party  ready  to  play  into  the  hands  of  any  enemy, 
if  they  could  thereby  recover  their  lost  privileges,  induced 
Perikles  to  complete  the  long  walls  connecting  Athens 
with  the  port  of  Peirseeus,  which  had  been  commenced 
before;  and  it  soon  became  evident  how  necessary  it  was 
to  strengthen  Athens  in  every  way.     In  an  engagement 
against    the    Ba3otians,     tlie    Athenians    were    defeated 
through   the   treachery   of  their  Thessalian  allies;    but 
this    loss   was   amply   repaid   a   year    later,  B.C.     456, 
when   M3a'onides  gained  a   complete    victory  over  the 
Boeotians  and  i-azed  the  walls  of  Tanagra  to  the  gi'ound. 
From  this  time  the  influence  of  Athens  predominated  in 
Bceotia ;  and  -^gina  soon  afterwards  became  subject  to 
Athens. 

About  this  time  news  reached  Athens  of  the  disaster  in 
Egypt,  but  she  nevertheless  continued  the  war  against 
Sparta  and  its  allies  as  vigorously  as  before.  In  B.C. 
453,  Perikles  himself  eflected  the  recall  of  Kimon  from 
exile ;  he  saw  the  necessity  of  all  tiiie  patriots  uniting 
against  the  schemes  of  the  oligarchical  faction,  for  it  was 
at  this  time  that  his  friend  Ephialtes,  a  man  of  the  stern- 
est honesty,  was  assassinated.  The  reconciliation  of  the 
two  men  secured  to  Greece  the  enjoyment  of  peace  for  the 
next  three  years,  after  which  a  truce  for  five  years  was 
concluded,  during  which  Kimon  undertook  his  last  cam- 
l)aign  against  the  Persians.  In  Egypt  another  revolt 
had  broken  out,  and  again  the  Athenians  were  asked  to 
send  succour.  Kimon  with  a  considerable  fleet  sailed  to 
Cyprus,  whence  he  sent  a  detachment  to  Eg}7)t,  while 


he  himself  laid  siege  to  Kition.  During  this  siege,  in 
B.C.  449,  he  died ;  and  his  forces  were  compelled  by  want 
of  provisions  to  stop  the  operation.  On  their  return 
home  they  gained  victories  by  sea  and  by  land  over  large 
bodies  of  Persians,  and  then  being  joined  by  the  detach- 
ment which  had  accomplished  its  object  in  Egypt,  they 

all  sailed  home. 

In  B.C.  448,  the  peace  of  Greece  was  disturbed  by  a 
quarrel  between  the  Delphians  and  Phokians  about  the 
guardianship  of  the  temple  of  Delphi,  which  had  belonged 
to  the  Delphians  from  time  immemorial,  but  had  been 
wrested  from  them  by  the  Phokians.  With  the  help  of 
Sparta  the  Delphians  recovered  what  had  been  lost. 
But  no  sooner  had  the  Spartan  forces  withdi^awn,  than 
Perikles  marched  with  an  army  into  Phokis  and  restored 
the  guardianship  of  the  temple  to  the  Phokians.     In  the 

year  following,  the  Athenian  influence  in  Boeotia  was 
destroyed  by  a  revolution  in  which  the  party  hostile 
to  Athens  gained  the  upper  hand. 

When,  in  B.C.  445,  the  five  years'  truce  expired,  Euboea 
and  Megara  rose  against  Athens  ;  and  while  Perikles  was 
engaged  in  quelling  the  insurrection  in  Euboea,  he  learned 
that   a    Peloponnesian    array  had    invaded    Attika   and 
was  ravaging  the  country.      By  bribes  he  induced  the 
Spartans   to   quit   Attika,    whereby  he  was  enabled  to 
complete  the  reduction  of  Euboea.     All  parties  seem  now 
to  have  become  tired  of  war ;  and  wishing  for  peace,  they 
concluded,    in   B.C.  445,  a  truce  which  was  to  last  for 
thirty  years.      In  it  the  Athenians  gave  up  their  posses- 
sions in  Peloponnesus,  but  their  maritime  empire  remained 
undisputed.     This  truce  was  distasteful  to  the  Athenian 
aristocracy,  which  was  then  headed  by  Thukydides,  but 
Perikles  bore  down  all  opposition,  for  his  power  was  now 
greater  than  ever.     He  was  now  in  a  condition  to  carry 
out  his  design  of  strengthening  the  Athenian  empire  and 
of  raising  the  confidence  and  self-respect  of  his  country- 
men to  a  level  with  their  lofty  position.     The  Athenian 
confederacy  was  no  longer  what  it  had  been  in  the  days 
of  Ai-istides.     Even  in  his  lifetime,  the  common  treasury 


80 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


i 
iJ 


had  Wn  transferred  from  Delos  to  Athens ;  those  of  the 
confederates  who  had  «>volted  had  been  r^uced  t^  the 
condition  of  s^bJec^  and  the  remaining  states  had  been 
so  much  weakened,  that  Athens,  from  &ing  the  head  of 
a  confederacy  had  become  the  mistress  of  an  empire  over 
which  she  ruled  with  almost  despotic  power      P^riuL 
raised  the  annual  tribute  of  the  allies  frem  400  to  600 
talenta,  and  all  subject  states  had  to  adopt  a  demoii^Mo 
constitution ;  but  what  was  stUl  more  iTconven^S 
annoying  to  them   was  the  fact  that  all  imp^r^nt  kw- 

his^lrmit"'  ^1?'"'  ^"^  "^  opportunity  of  displaying 
r  J  iT  1"*'''i^  ^  a  military  commander  The 
island  of  ^amo,  was  governed  by  I'ts  aristoci^J,  which 

Ather°'p"\f"""°T  *"  °"^^''^*'^  ^'^  the\elp  of 
Athena      Penkles,   who   was   sent  out  with  a  fleet  i^ 

accomplish  this  object,  at  once  establisheTa  demSAti^ 

government  and  sent  100  membei^  of  the  arisS^t 

hostages  to  Lemnos.     Leaving  a  small  garrison  behi^  h^ 

^Wt^he  tr  of"""'  '"""?  ""'^  ^•'«^"-  --noble,! 
mth  the  help   of   mercenaries,  overpowered    the   new 

government,  restored  the  old  constitution,  rescutl  thT 

SWi^'p  Tr''  '^'  — «on  withAthens     On 
hearing  this,  Penkles  again  set  out  with  a  fleet  drove 

he  Samians  into  their  town  and  blocka^led  it.  Know^^! 
that  a  Persian  fleet  was  expected  to  support  the  Samkns 
he  sailed  out  to  meet  it,  but  it  did  notTake  its  apZ?. 
ance.  On  his  return  to  Samos  he  found  thTtX 
adversaries  had  gained  some  advantages,  but  his  presence 
soon  changed  the  aspect  of  things,  and  ^fter  the  war  had 
^ted  for  mne  rnonths,  the  Samians  were  coSS 
to  capitulate  and  became  subjects  of  Athens  Thi, 
event   consolidated  the  Athenian  empire     over  wEh 

rIsSnt      "'°''*'  •"'*'  ""'"'''  °PP««'«°-  and  wi^out 

Athens  was  now  in  a  condition  to  strengthen  herself 
and  to  provide  for  her  poorer  citizens  by  the  foundS 
of  new  colonies,  where  they  might  be  useful  to  her     ^e 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


81 


position  to  which  her  citizens  had  risen  filled  them  with 
a  feeling  of  pride;  the  Athenian  franchise  was  highly 
valued,  and  every  one  not  entitled  to  it  was  rigorously 
excluded.     The  poorer  classes,  moreover,  found  profitable 
employment,    partly   in   the   great   architectural   works 
which  Perikles  caused  to  be  erected  for  the  defence  or 
embellishment  of  the  city,  and   partly  by  their  being 
trained  for  the  navy.     Among  the  architectural  works 
we  have  already  noticed  the  long  walls ;  but  the  temples 
which  adorned   the   akropolis,    such  as  the  Parthenon, 
with  its  splendid  approach,  the  Propylcea,  decorated  with 
the  masterworks  of  sculpture  by  Pheidias,  still  excite  in 
their  ruined  state  the  admiration  of  the  whole  of  the 
civilised  world.     Perikles  also  knew  that  a  people  cannot 
be  truly  happy  without  reasonable  divei-sions  and  amuse- 
ments ;  he  therefore  provided  the  poorer  classes,  out  of 
the  public  funds,  with  the  means  of  attending  the  theatre 
and  taking  part  in  the  public  festivals.     He  also  intro- 
duced the  practice  of  paying  jurors  for  their  attendance 
in  the  courts  of  law.     These  regulations,  at  first  perhaps 
fair  and  just,  afterwards  became  detrimental  to  the  state, 
especially  when  the  amount  of  money  thus  spent  was 
increased  by  subsequent  popular  leaders. 

The  period  during  which  Perikles  guided  the  destiny 
of  Athens  forms  the  most  brilliant  epoch  in  her  history. 
Down  to  the  time  of  the  Persian  wars,  Athens  had  not 
been  distinguished  in  any  way  above  other  Greek  cities, 
but  the  victories  she  won  in  those  wars  stimulated  the 
energy  of  her  citizens,  and  rendered  them  capable  of  pro- 
ducing the  most  wonderful  works  in  ai-t  and  literature  which 
the  world  has  ever  seen.    At  the  time  when  lyric  poetry 

was  gradually  dying  away,  Athens  enriched  literature 
with  the  drama,  the  highest  and  most  complex  of  all 
poetical  compositions,  and  the  greatest  dramatists  in 
tragedy  and  comedy  belong  to  the  age  of  Perikles.  The 
first  impulse  was  given  by  Phrynichos,  but  the  real  father 
of  tragedy  was  jEschylos,  of  whom  seven  pieces  have  come 
down  to  our  time.  His  younger  contemporary,  SojyJiokks, 
is  imsurpassed  in  the  charm  of  his  language  and  the 

F 


IS 


82 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


■y  ^ 


general  harmony  of  his  conceptions.  He  wa^  succeeded 
hy  Euripides  who,  though  inferior  as  a  poet,  supplanted 
him  in  popular  favour.  With  these  masters  tragedy  was 
not  a  mere  amusement,  but  a  means  employed  for  reli- 
ft''''\'T'^^*  ^""^  sometimes  even  political  purposes, 
though  the  last  was  more  especially  the  case  in  comedy, 
which  enjoyed  unbounded  license,  and  reached  its  highest 
development  thmigh  the  genius  of  Aristophums,  in  the 
time   ot    the  Peloponnesian    war.       Prose   literature    in 

Wee,  as  in  aU   other   countries,  was  cultivated  later 
toan  poetry. 

Periklea,  like  all  great  men,  had  to  make  the  sad  ex- 
perience that  mankind  is  prone  to  envy,  jealousy,  and 
hatred.     Rumours  and  suspicions  were  spi-ead,  not  only 
regarding  his  private  life,  but  also  in  reference  to  his 
public  acts      The  first  attempts  to  hurt  him  consisted  in 
attacks  on  his  dearest  friends;  but  he  himself  also  was 
assailwl,  and  his  enemies  charged  him  with  havinjr  em- 
bezzled a  portion  of  the  gold  destined  to  be  employed  in 
the  magnificent  statue  of  Athena;  but  he  silenced  his 
accusere,  by  having  the  gold  taken  from  the  statue  and 
weighed,  when  it  was  found  that  nothing  was  wantin- 
Pheidias  was  accused  of  having  introduced  his  own  po?l 
■  ti-ait  among  the  figures  on  the  shield  of  the  goddess  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  thrown  into  pri^n.     Hav- 
ing been  successful  in  this  case,  the  enemies  of  Perikles 
tried  others  but  their  machinations  failed,  and  in  despair 
they  at  last  droi)ped  their   proceedings.      Perikles  waa 
never  again  molested,  and  mainfciined  his  high  position 
as  head  of  the  republic  down  to  the  end  of  hia  lifft/^ 


ped:mekt  or  pajithiison. 


HEAD  OF  SOCRATES. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   PELOPONNESIAN   WAR. 

Although  a  truce  of  thirty  years  had  been  made  in 
B.C.  445,  it  was  evident  that  peace  could  not  be  main- 
tained long,  for  the  ever-growing  power  and  influence  of 
Athens  filled  the  other  states,  and  especially  Sparta,  with 
jealousy  and  hatred.  These  feelings  kept  Sparta  and  her 
allies  in  close  union,  while  Athens  could  scarcely  depend 
upon  the  fidelity  of  her  allies  and  subjects.  Spai-ta, 
moreover,  represented  the  Dorian  and  aristocratic  interest; 
while  Athens,  an  Ionian  state,  everywhere  fostered  demo- 
cratic institutions.  In  this  state  of  things,  it  only  re- 
quired a  spark  to  set  the  whole  country  in  a  blaze  of  war. 
That  spark  came  from  an  unexpected  quarter,  and  the 
result  was  a  war  which  lasted  twenty-seven  years,  dis- 
turbed the  peace  of  the  whole  of  the  Greek  world,  and 
ended  in  the  downfall  of  Athens. 

At  EpidamnoSy  a  colony  of  Kerkyra  (Corcyra),  in  Illy- 
ricum,  the  aristocratic  party,  having  been  expelled  by  tlie 
demos,  had  obtained  the  assistance  of  a  neighbouring  tribe, 
and  were  attacking  the  town.  The  Epidamnians  applied 
for  help  to  their  mother  city,  and  as  this  was  refused,  they 
addressed  themselves  to  Korinth,  the  mother  city  of 
Kerkyra.  Korinth  gladly  seized  the  opportunity  of 
punishing  her  colony  which  had  neglected  its  duties 
towards  her.  A  Korinthian  army  accordingly  marched 
to  Epidamnus,  and  the  Kerkyraeans  at  the  same  time 


84 


I 


HISTORY   OF  GREECE. 


nobles,  and   tl.e  dism.ss=xl  of  all   Koriuthians  from   the 

the  exiles  and  others,  blockaded  Epidamnus.  Th^  KoT 
inthians  now  declared  war  against  Kerkyra.  In  a  nav 'l 
engagement  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ambi^ldan  GuWih^l 

Epidammans  had  to  surrender  to  the  besiegers  who  sold 
the  inhabitants  into  slavery,  and  kept  the  K;rinaS 
as  prisoners  of  war.  This  happened  in  B.C.  434';"""'^''"^ 
J.he  Konnthians  thereupon  made  every  effort  to 
strengthen  themselves  by  new  alliances,  and  the  Kei° 

tLirtTmies  Aft  "  T  ^"^^'''■^'^ors  to  count'e.^t 
eluded  «Tr  .•^'^^';,l»-^t"re  consideration  Athens  con- 
cluded a  defensive  alliance  with  Kerkyra,  but  did  not 

it'Z^'lTT  ''°""A  ^ --"fleet  tlXigly 
was  sent  to  Kerkyra  with  orders  not  to  en^a^e  in  anv 
contest,  unless  Kerkyra  should  be  attacked.  The  Korhf 
thian  and  Kerkyntean  fleets  met  near  a  place  called 
SS  twT'T  *'!  >*'r'^"«  ^"  theii-'^^lTes  fi 

EthtT,tt  r.?  i^'"^  ^-—  ^^-  -^ 

^2^^'^f  •*'l'*  '*''''?  ^"'"8  on,  Perdikkas,  kin-  of  Mico- 
donia,  tried  to  incite  the  cities  in  the  north  of  tht 
^ga^an  to  give  up  their  alliance  with  Athens  One  of 
«iese  towns  was  Potula-a,  a  colony  of  Korii  h,  and  the 

ttixSic:Lran7!:tiSS"t  *?  irr  1 

tiat  she  would  pro^ct  ^^S^^..^^ ^^ 
its  mhabifcmts  defied    the  ordei-s    sent   from   Athens 
Several    other    towns    followed    their    example       The 

Tc'r  o'nihe"*  •'^»""'"'  ^"J'  ^"''"'=  "-'f  ^  -  k 

a^rp:^iS:s:-'B:?r^^^^^^^^^^ 

vailed  upon  to  make  peace  with  the  kin;?,  in  ordefto  1^ 
able  to  direct  all  his  forces,  which  had  S  tie  meantiii: 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


85 


been  much  increased,  against  the  Korinthians  and  their 
friends.  The  Korinthians  were  indeed  defeated,  but 
succeeded  in  throAving  themselves  into  Potidoea,  which 
was  now  besieged  by  land  and  by  sea. 

Amid  these  complications  a  congi-ess  of  the  S})artan 
allies  was  summoned  to  Sparta,  and  all  states  believing 
themselves  to  be  unjustly  treated  by  Athens,  were  invited 
to  state  their  gi-ievances.  Many  complaints  were  brought 
forward,  but  the  Athenian  envoys  manfully  defended  the 
conduct  of  their  countrymen.  The  result,  however,  was 
that  war  was  declared,  in  B.C.  432 ;  but  Sparta,  with  its 
usual  slowness,  did  not  take  any  active  steps  till  the  year 
following.  Some  attempts  at  negotiation  continued  to 
be  made,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  sympathies  of  most  of 
the  continental  states  were  in  favour  of  the  Spartans, 
who  declared  themselves  the  champions  of  the  liberty 
and  independence  of  the  Greeks.  The  allies  of  Sparta 
included  all  the  Peloponnesians  except  Argos,  and 
she  was  further  supported  by  Megara,  Phokis,  Lokris, 
Boeotia,  and  in  general  by  all  Dorian  cities.  The 
allies  of  Athens  were  Chios,  Lesbos,  Plataeae,  the 
Messenians  at  Naupaktos,  the  greater  part  of  Akar- 
nania,  Zakynthos,  and  Kerkyra,  and  they  were  of  course 
supported  by  the  Ionian  cities  in  Asia,  on  the  Hellespont 
and  the  coast  of  Thrace,  and  by  most  of  the  islands  in  the 
-^gjean.  All  Greece  was  thus  divided  in  two  hostile 
camps,  and  both  parties  were  making  active  preparations 
for  the  coming  contest. 

In  B.C.  431,  the  Spartan  king,  Archidamos,  invaded 
Attika  with  an  army,  and  devastated  the  country  in 
order  to  draw  out  the  Athenians  to  a  decisive  battle. 
But  Perikles  was  determined  to  maintain  a  defensive 
attitude,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  summer  Archidamos 
returned  home  and  disbanded  his  army.  In  the  mean- 
time, however,  the  Athenian  fleet  had  been  retaliating 
by  ravaging  the  coasts  of  Peloponnesus  and  Lokris,  and 
in  the  autumn  Perikles  himself  made  a  predatory  inroad 
into  Megara.  During  the  first  five  years  of  the  war  both 
parties  annually  made  such  ravaging  incursions  into  each 


86 


HISTORY   OF  GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


87 


Si 


other  s    territories,   and    neither    seems    to  have  been 
inclined  to  bring  the  war  to  a  close  by  some  decisive 

r^i  .1  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^  s^^^e^al  parts  of  Greece, 
and  the  Athenians  generally  had  the  advantage  over 
their  enemies. 

Early  in  the  folloAving  year,  when  Archidamos  had 
again  invaded  Attika,   a  terrible  plague    broke   out  at 
Athens,  which  was  then  overcrowded  with  people  fi-om 
the  countiy    who   were   seeking  protection   within   its 
waJIs.     4000  citizens  and  10,000  slaves  were  carried  off 
by  the  pestilence,  while  the  Lakedsemonians  were  ravairin- 
the  country  for  a  period  of  forty  days.     But  the  A^en*! 
lan  fleet,  as  in  the  year  before,  made  a  ravaging  tour 
round   Peloponnesus,    and   Potid^a   was   compelled    by 
famine  to  suijender      In  the  year  b.c.  429,  Athens  lost 
her  great  leader  Perikles,  who  fell  a  victim  to  the  plague. 
What  the  people  had  lost  in  him  became  evident  but  too 
soon,  for  unprincipled  demagogues,  by  humouring  the 
evil   passions   of  the   peopfe,  demoralised   them,  and  it 
became   impossible   to   make   any  great   efforts  abroarl, 
though  Phormion,  the  Athenian  admiral,  gained  some 
advantages  m  the  western  sea  and  compelled  the  Pelo- 
ponnesian  fleet  to  take  refuge  in  the  Korinthian  gulf. 

Ihe  Boeotian  town  of  Flatc^w,  even  before  the  outbreak 
01  the  war  had  been  treacherously  attacked  one  night  by 
a  body  of  Thebans,  but  by  the  quickness  of  the  Platseans 
nearly  the  whole  band  were  taken  prisoner,  and  many  of 
them  were  put  to  death.  Athens,  the  ancient  friend  of 
^lataeae  supported  the  place  as  far  as  she  could  :  but  in 

A V;-u  /""''x  f  ^1^  T'''  Archidamos,  instead  of  invading 
Attika  directed  all  his  forces  against  Plata^^,  whose 
inhabitants  defended  themselves  with  almost  superhuman 
bravery,  until,  in  b.c  427,  they  were  obliged  to  capitulate. 
^n  the  male  population  was  butchered,  and  the  women 
were  sojd  as  slaves.  This  act  of  wanton  cruelty  was  the 
work  ot  the  Thebans. 

^  The  fourth  year  of  the  war,  Archidamos  repeated  the 
invasion  of  Attika,  the  Athenians  still  maintkiuing  the 
defensive.     The  most  important  event  of  this  year  waa 


the  revolt  of  the  wealthy  island  of  Lesbos,  where  the 
aristocratic  pai-ty  favoured  Sparta,  while  the  demos  clung 
to  the  Athenian  alliance.  As  remonstrance  with  the 
rebellious  city  of  Mitylene  produced  no  effect,  a  fleet  was 
sent  out  against  it.  The  Spartans  promised  help  to  the 
rebels,  admitted  them  into  the  Peloponnesian  confederacy, 
and  resolved  to  attack  Athens  itself  But  the  prompt- 
ness of  the  Athenians  comj^elled  them  to  abandon  this 
undertaking.  Meanwhile  Mitylene  was  blockaded  by 
the  Athenian  admiral  Paches,  and  no  Peloponnesian 
fleet  appeared  to  its  relief  until  B.C.  427,  when  the  Spar- 
tans again  ravaged  Attika  in  the  hope  of  thereby  com- 
pelling Athens  to  withdraw  her  forces  from  Lesbos.  But 
Mitylene  was  obliged  to  surrender  before  the  Pelopon- 
nesian fleet  arrived.  When  Paches  was  master  of  the 
island,  he  sent  the  ringleaders  of  the  revolt  to  Athens, 
where  it  was  to  be  decided  what  punishment  should  be 
inflicted  upon  the  islanders.  Kleoriy  a  leather  merchant, 
who  was  then  the  leader  of  the  Athenian  people,  induced 
them  to  pass  the  bloody  decree,  that  all  the  men  should 
be  put  to  death,  and  the  women  and  children  sold  as 
slaves.  Messengers  were  at  once  sent  with  this  decree 
to  Paches ;  but  the  Athenian  people  soon  repented  of 
their  terrible  order :  the  very  next  day  the  decree  was 
reversed,  and  it  was  resolved  to  inflict  death  only  on 
the  most  guilty.  Another  ship  was  therefore  sent  off 
and  arrived  just  in  time  to  save  the  unfortunate  people 
of  Mitylene.  But  Lesbos  lost  its  freedom,  and  became 
subject  to  Athens. 

The  bitterest  hatred  liad  gradually  arisen  everywhere 
between  the  aristocratic  and  democratic  parties,  but 
nowhere  waa  greater  cruelty  and  ferocity  displayed  than 
at  Kerkyra,  whose  prosperity  was  thereby  destroyed  for 
ever.  Dorian  and  aristocracy,  and  Ionian  and  democracy 
had  almost  become  synonymous.  Hence  we  find  even  in 
Sicily  the  Dorian  colonics  headed  by  Syi'akuse,  arrayed 
against  the  Ionian  towns ;  and  the  Athenians  were  pre- 
vailed upon  by  the  Leontine  orator  Gorgias  to  send  a 
fleet  to   Sicily,  in  B.C.  427,  which  was  to  prevent  rein- 


88 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


,-nJi!i  *il?'°t  ^^'''  ^^^  ^P-'^^'^ns  intended  a^in  to 
invade  Attika^  but,  terrified  by  earthquakes,  they  ^„ 

ake  th    X  •'"''  '°  '"^^  *^«  ^^''-'-^  wet  free^ 
take  the  offensive  against  some  of  their  enemies  in  th« 

north  and  ^est;  even  in  Sicily  they  gained  ZsessTon  of 

some  important  places.     In  the  year  foUowi^the  PpiI 

ponnesians  indeed  carried  out  tLir  de^  ^/   '  J^ 

t^^  J  tt  ''^'r  ^  ^^y  "'^  °"'y  fifteen  days,  they  Sned 
home,  for  hey  learned  that  De>nostheneI,  L  able  ZTen 
lan  general  had  established  himself  at  PWosi^  Metse„i^ 
and  strongly  fort  fied  the  oliice  Tbo  <<;>„!  -aiessenm, 
accordingly  recalled  from  tea,?nd  5^  rt?  b™S 
less  attempts  were  made  to  rocUr  PyZ    Ahl^ti 

srnTS^ri::xrr^;,^^i^^^^^^^^ 
to^f  f- j^rradt^^^^^^ 

faithful  slaves.      In  order  to  save  her  men%^.  f        ^ 

posea  by  Athens,  which  was  then  fruided  hv  TTl^^^ 
such  that  Sparta  could  not  accept  them     S  hlT::;: 
at  Pylos  also  began  to  suffer  from  want  of  proS^ 

thatff  ri^nf""^  '^''^''''^  i°  '^^  assembt  at  rre"t' 
that  if  he  had  the  command  he  would  hrmn-  fl,»  «       f    ' 

captive   from   Sphakteria  toZheu^nllfv^^'^'^ 

taking  him  at  hii  word,  appoint  Wm  commatdS'Z 

Demosthen%  ^l  ^  ^l^^  2  ^"ST^lrf 
circumstances,  be  drove  the  Spartans  into  a  comlr  o?th! 
^sland  and  then  com,«lle.l  the.i  to  surrender     Nearly  oJe! 

P^inise^lir  1^^^^^^^^  -h 

^JXt^Str;.^£'Sf£s«::ra;!^ 


1 


HISTORY  OP   GREECE. 


89 


which  tried  to  recover  its  captive  citizens  by  negotiation, 
but  without  success ;  for  the  Athenians  were  exorbitant 
in  their  demands,  and  in  the  end  declared  that  they 
would  put  them  all  to  death  if  the  Peloponnesians  again 
invaded  Attika.  During  this  year  the  Athenians  Avere 
also  successful  in  other  parts,  and  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  island  of  Kythera.  These  successes 
encouraged  and  emboldened  them  in  the  same  proportion 
as  they  discouraged  the  Spartans,  who  now  began  to  con- 
fine themselves  to  the  defensive,  while  the  Athenians 
continued  their  ravaging  expeditions.  In  Sicily  a  peace 
was  concluded  with  Athens,  on  the  advice  of  the  wise 
and  patriotic  Syrakusan,  llermokrates^  who  showed  his 
countrymen  that,  by  fighting  against  one  another,  they 
were  only  preparing  the  way  for  a  foreign  conqueror.  But 
the  Athenian  people,  in  their  belief  that  greater  advantages 
might  have  been  gained  in  Sicily,  punished  some  of  the 
generals  who  had  consented  to  the  peace. 

The  Spartans  were  at  no  time  famous  for  kindness  or 
affability,  but  there  had  arisen  among  them  a  man  who 
combined  these  qualites  with  those  of  a  gi-eat  captain. 
That  man  was  Brasidas.  He  first  drove  the  Athenians 
from  Megara,  and  then  transferred  the  war  to  the  pen- 
insula of  Chalkidike  and  the  coast  of  Thrace,  hoping 
thereby  to  compel  the  Athenians  to  give  up  Pylos  and 
Kythera.  While  these  plans  were  being  carried  out,  the 
Athenians  suffered  a  very  severe  defeat  at  Delion  in 
Bceotia,  whither  they  had  been  invited  by  a  party  of 
Boeotians  favourable  to  them.  Their  loss  amounted  to 
more  than  1000  of  their  best  soldiers. 

When  Brasidas  arrived  in  Macedonia,  he  was  joined  at 
once  by  the  fickle  King  Perdikkas,  and  advancing  into 
Chalkidike,  he  proclaimed  himself  the  deliverer  of  the 
Greek  towns  from  the  tyi-anny  of  Athens.  His  winning 
manners  captivated  all,  and  made  them  desirous  of  join- 
ing the  Spartan  alliance;  some  towns  declared  themselves 

at  once,  and  received  Lakedaemonian  garrisons.  The 
success  of  Bmsidas  was  immense,  though  he  received 
little  support  from   home.     But  as  the  Spartans  were 


I 


! 


90 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


>4^ 


<^^»^ 


1 


5;  sfrric^ts-s^-^^^^^ 

in  Strth  Slillr!  ^''t  «°^8  °°'  tJ'^  Athenians 

.  coLLd  of  Cr  "*  "f  *^2'  ^«"^  ""d^rtook  the 
J  command  ot  the  Athenian  forces.     After  havinjr  miinpH 

some  advantages,  he  met  Brasidas,  who  had  iT^he  mean 
When'' kLI^  J-ge  reinfoi^me^ts,  near  Amph.^fil 
Z^^    Q    !?  ^"^  *^^  ^"^"y  approach  he  retreated  • 

u  loutea  them.  Kleon  himse  f  took  to  flisrht  hut 
bemg  overtaken  he  was  slain  by  a  common  soldLrwhUe 
the  Athenians  bravely  continued  the  fi.»ht   untU  in  tb« 

woundeTirth  TT"^-     ^'-••^-  hAen  mo^?; 

rSLm  J:fieTd  o^;  battled  f'^^T'  ^  ^^ 
died.  Amphipohs,  where  he 

bythfsnartfnf  If  ^'^^'''  "^  ^^^'^  ""^  abandoned 
liberal  tTJi^'  °  ^«';«,  resolved  to  make  peace  and 
liberate  their  prisoners.     The  recent  losses  had  consider 

who  t:'t^V'',  1.  *''«  Athenians,  and^£ 
^  now  was   their   leading   man,  was   in  favour  of 

=ld  ^'d  "-'4''  ^'^  Xs  thK  ZZ 

dent  thlJl^  '  suspicion,  and  it  was  only  too  evi- 

dent that  the  peace  could  not  last  long 

i  or  nearly  seven  years  the  Athenians  and  Spartans  did 

^Lwl"   T  'r'*^'?^  ''^^  "^^--'^  territoriesXSher 
Btiactly  adhered  to  the  terms  of  the  peace,  and  eLh  of  Ihe 


HISTORY   OF  GREECE. 


91 


two  states  eagerly  increased  the  number  of  its  allies.  A  rgos 
in  the  meantime  put  itself  at  the  head  of  a  new  con 
federation,  and  declared  itself  in  favour  of  Athens  ;  while 
Sparta  entered  into  a  separate  understanding  with  Bceotia. 
Amid  these  difficult  complications,  Alkibiades,  still  a 
young  man,  was  fanning  the  warlike  spirit  of  the  Athen- 
ians. He  belonged  to  an  illustrious  family,  and  his  very 
eccentricities  made  him  a  favourite  with  the  people.  His 
feelings  were  those  of  an  aristocrat,  but  his  ambition  led 
hrm  to  come  forward  as  a  popular  leader.  The  alliance 
with  Argos,  which  was  to  be  both  offensive  and  defensive, 
and  to  last  for  a  hundred  years,  was  mainly  his  work. 
The  Athenians  made  use  of  this  alliance  for  annoying 
Sparta;  and  in  B.C.  418,  Argos,  incited  by  Alkibiades, 
went  so  far  in  her  provocation  that  Sparta  could  endure 
it  no  longer.  A  war  ensued,  in  which  the  Argives  were 
completely  defeated  in  a  battle  near  Mantiueia  ;  but  the 

aristocratic  party  at  Argos  soon  after  brought  about  a 
peace  with  Sparta,  in  which  its  former  allies  were  given 
up.  Argos  and  Sparta  now  increased  the  number  of 
their  allies  as  much  as  possible,  and  supported  aristocratic 
governments  wherever  they  could. 

In  B.C.  417,  the  democratic  party  at  Argos  again 
gained  the  upper  hand,  and  renewed  its  connection  with 
Athens.  The  year  after,  Alkibiades  sailed  with  a  fleet 
to  Argos,  and  made  300  aristocrats  his  prisoners. 
Soon  after  this,  the  Doric  island  of  JfeloSy  declining  to 
join  the  Athenian  confederacy,  was  besieged  and  com- 
pelled to  suiTcnder  at  discretion.  The  Athenians,  with 
the  utmost  cruelty,  changed  the  island  into  a  wilderness, 
and  then  peopled  it  again  with  new  settlers.  The  Spar- 
tans, still  keeping  to  the  terms  of  the  peace,  did  nothing 
to  assist  Melos,  but  events  were  occurring  at  a  distance 
which  rendered  the  maintenance  of  peace  impossible. 

We  have  already  noticed  that  the  Athenians  were 
vexed  with  their  generals  who  returned  from  Sicily 
i^'ithout  having  made  any  conquests.  After  the  death  of 
Perikles,  the  demagogues,  elated  by  the  successes  at  home, 
made  the  people  believe  that  they  might  accomplish  any- 


92 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


thing    if  they  only  set  resolutely  about  it.      Politicians 
were  divided  into  two  parties  :  the  one,  headed  hyA'ikias, 
wished  for  peace  at  any  price;  the  other,  led  by  AVcl 
blades,  was  full  of  projects  of  war  and  conquest.     While 
opinions   were   thus  divided,   an   embassy^  from   £gesta 
appeared  at  Athens,  m  b.c.  416,  to  solicit  aid  against  the 
town  of  Selmus,  and  made  most  liberal  promfses      En- 
voys were  at  once  sent  to  Sicily  to  look  into  the  state  of 
affairs  and  on  their  return  gave  a  most  glowing  account 
of  the  wealth  and  power  of  Egesta.     The  Athenians, 
therefore,  at  once  decreed  to  send  out  a  powerful  fleet 
under  the  command  of  Alkibiades,  Larruichos,  and  Niki^, 
It  was  the  most  splendid  armament  that  Athens  had  ever 
litted  out,  and  worthy  of  the  proud  position  she  occui,ied 
among  the  states  of  Greece.  ^ 

When  the  fleet  was  almost  ready  to  sail,  nearly  all  the 
statues  of  Hermes,  which  adorned  the  streets  of  Athens 
were  found  one  morning  overthrown  or  mutilated.  This 
act  of  wantonness  filled  the  minds  of  the  people  with  alarm. 
It  being  believed  that  it  could  only  be  the  work  of  a  conl 
spiracy.  Many  persons  were  denounced,  and  those  who 
took  to  flight  were  sentenced  to  death,  and  their  property 
wa^  confiscated  The  name  of  Alkibiades  was  not  men- 
tioned  by  any  of  the  informers  untU  the  fleet  had  actually 
sailed  On  its  arrival  at  Rhegium,  in  southern  Italy,  a 
detachment  was  sent  to  Egesta  to  gather  information 

""^^^^  ^1."'^''^  ""^  "^^^^^^^^  The  report  brought  back 
showed  that  the  wealth  of  Egesta  had  been  greatly 
exaggerated,  but  Alkibiades  and  Lamachos  were  never- 
theless resolved  to  assist  the  town,  to  gain  as  many  allies 
as  possible,  and  to  attack  Syi-akuse,  the  chief  of  the 
JLJorian  cities  m  Sicily. 

A  ^\  ^^f  "T'^'J*'  ^''^^y«  ''^^^i^e^  f^'om  Athens  to  recall 
Alkibiades,  that  he  might  answer  the  charges  which  his 
enemies  had  m  the  meantime  brought  against  him.  He 
offered  no  resistance,  and  sailed  ba<;k  with  the  envoys  • 
but  on  their  arrival  at  Thuru  he  landed  and  took  to  fli4t.' 
The  remova  of  Alkibiades  deprived  the  expedition  of  the 
only  man  who  might  have  carried  the  undertaking  to  a 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


93 


successful  issue.  He  went  into  Peloponnesus,  and  his 
enemies  at  Athens  caused  him  to  be  condemned  to  death, 
and  had  all  his  property  confiscated.  The  war  in  Sicily 
was  carried  on  without  much  energy,  until,  about  the 
beginning  of  winter,  the  Athenians  landed  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Syrahuse,  and  after  an  engagement,  in  which 
the  S3rrakusans  narrowly  escaped  being  beaten,  the  Athen- 
ians withdrew  to  Katana. 

During  the  winter,  the  Syi'akusans,  under  the  guidance 
of  Hermokrates,  did  all  they  could  to  strengthen  them- 
selves, but  found  the  Sicilian  towns  rather  lukewarm  in 
the  cause.  The  Athenians  also  endeavoured  to  strengthen 
themselves  by  fresh  alliances.  The  Syrakusans  sent  to 
Sparta  and  Korinth  for  assistance,  and  Alkibiades,  who 
had  taken  refuge  at  Sparta,  strongly  urged  the  govern- 
ment to  send  a  large  force  and  an  able  general  to  aid 
Syi-akuse,  and  at  the  same  time  to  take  possession  of 
iJekekia,  in  the  very  heart  of  Attika.  The  advice  was 
at  once  acted  upon,  and  Gylippos  was  sent  with  a  force 
to  Syrakuse. 

In  the  spring  of  B.C.  414,  the  Athenians  besieged 
Syrakuse,  and  several  engagements  took  place,  in  one  of 
which  Lamachos  was  killed.  Syrakuse  was  then  closely 
invested,  whereby  its  inhabitants  were  reduced  to  such  a 
state  of  despair  as  to  depose  their  faithful  leader  Hermo- 
krates. The  Athenians,  being  now  joined  by  many 
Sicilian  towns,  were  feeling  sure  of  victory ;  but  just  at 
this  time  Gylii)pos  arrived,  and  his  mere  presence  revived 

the  spirit  of  the  Dorian  towns.  Great  numbei-s  flocked 
to  his  standard,  and  the  Syrakusans,  giving  up  all  thoughts 
of  peace,  attacked  the  nearly  completed  fortifications  of 
the  Athenians. 

The  aspect  of  things  was  completely  changed.  Both 
the  native  Sicilians  and  the  Greek  towns  joined  Syi-a- 
kuse,  while  the  Athenians  had  scarcely  any  allies  excej^t 
Naxos  and  Katana.  Nikias,  now  the  sole  commander  of 
the  Athenians,  instead  of  besieging  Syrakuse,  found  that 
he  was  himself  besieged.  He  applied  to  Athens  for  rein- 
forcements, and  wished  to  resign  the  command  on  the 


94 


HISTORY   OP  GREECE. 


HISTORY    OP    GREECE. 


P 


ground  of  ill  health.  The  last  request  was  refused,  bat 
two  generals,  Demosthenes  and  Earymedon,  were  sent 
with  fresh  troops  to  Sicily.  As  the  peace  between  the 
two  leading  states  of  Greece  had  now  been  openly 
broken,  the  Spartan  king,  Agis,  in  B.C.  413,  invaded 
Attika,  and  after  ravaging  the  country,  fortified  himself 
at  Dekeleia,  from  whence  he  could  annoy  the  Athenians 
m  many  ways.  The  situation  of  Athens  was  desperate. 
She  had  to  carry  on  the  war  both  at  home  and  in  SicUy ; 
the  sums  of  money  required  were  immense,  and  her 
revenues  were  diminished.  These  circumstances  created 
a  feeling  of  uneasiness  and  discontent,  which  ultimately 
found  vent  in  a  revolution. 

Before  Demosthenes  and  Eurymedon  arrived  with  their 
forces,  a  naval  battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  Athenians 
were  victorious,  but  their  station  on  the  coast  was  seized 
by  the  army  of  Gylippos.     The  Athenians  were  much 
hai-assed  by  the  enemy,  and  in  a  second  naval  battle  they 
were  compelled  to  retreat.     At  this  critical  time,  when 
the  Athenians  began  to  lose  their  prestige,  Demosthenes 
and  Eurymedon  arrived.     Demosthenes  at  once  made  a 
night  attack   on  one   of  the   suburbs  of  Syrakuse,  and 
though  at  first  successful,  he  was  at  last  defeated  with 
great  loss.       As,   in  addition  to   this   disaster,   diseases 
broke  out  among  the  Athenian  troops,  their  commanders 
became  disheartened,  and  Demosthenes  even  thou<^ht  of 
abandoning  Sicily  altogether.     Nikias,  though  he  fo^'resaw 
the  danger  of  such  a  withdrawal,  at  last  agreed  with  his 
colleague  to  retreat  in  secrecy.       The  Syrakusans,  who 
had  been  informed  of  this  design,  attacked  their  enemies 
both  by  land  and  by  sea.     The  Athenian  fleet  was  com- 
pletely defeated,  and  Eurymedon  was  killed.     The  loss  of 
the  Athenians  was  very  severe,  and  the  Syrakusans  now 
aimed  at  nothing  short  of  the  utter  annihilation  of  their 
opponents.     They  therefore  resolved  to  try  their  strentHh 
in  another  sea  fight,  and  the  Athenians  now  felt  that 
their  very  existence  was  at  stake.     The  land  army,  under 
liikias,  was  drawn  up  on  the  coast.     In  the  ensuincr 
engagement,  the  Athenian  fleet  was  compelled  to  retreat 


95 


III 


towards  the  coast,  and  the  land  army  broke  up  in  utter 
confusion.  The  fleet,  one-half  of  which  was  destroyed, 
was  abandoned,  and  the  Athenians  endeavoured  by  flight 
to  reach  some  inland  place  of  safety,  the  sick  and 
wounded  being  left  behind.  Nikias  led  the  van,  and 
Demosthenes  the  rear.  The  Syrakusans  pursued  and 
harassed  them  in  every  way,  and  after  some  days  forced 
them  to  prepare  for  battle.  The  troops  of  Demosthenes 
were  compelled  to  sun-ender  their  arms,  but  their  lives 
were  to  be  spared.  When  Nikias  was  likewise  overtaken 
and  heard  of  the  fate  of  his  colleague,  he  could  not 
believe  it,  and  continued  his  march  amid  the  greatest 
difficulties,  until  he  too  was  forced  to  surrender.  The 
captives,  7000  in  number,  were  sent  into  a  large  stone 
quarry  near  Syrakuse,  where  they  were  kept  for  seventy 

days,  crowded  together,  upon  little  food,  and  in  a  pestilen- 
tial atmosphere,  for  the  bodies  of  the  dead  and  dying  were 
left  in  the  midst  of  the  living.  At  last  the  survivors 
were  sold  as  slaves,  and  Nikias  and  Demosthenes  were 
put  to  death.  Thus  ended  the  most  splendid  expedition 
that  Athens  had  ever  sent  out.  The  heartless  cruelty 
of  the  Syrakusans  cannot  but  fill  us  with  horror  and 
detestation. 

When  the  news  of  this  dreadful  blow  reached  Athens, 
the  people  became  desponding,  and  vented  their  wrath 
against  those  who  had  advised  them  to  embark  in  the 
undertaking ;  but  they  soon  recovered  their  spirits  and 
determined  to  preserve  whatever  power  they  still  pos- 
sessed. The  genei-al  war  was  continued  for  nine  years 
longer,  partly  by  sea,  and  partly  on  the  coast  of  Asia 
Minor,  while  the  Spai*tans  maintained  their  strong  posi- 
tion at  Dekeleia.  During  the  Sicilian  expedition,  Spai-ta 
had  become  a  maritime  power.  The  discontented  allies 
of  Athens,  such  as  Euboea  and  Lesbos,  seizing  the  oppor- 
tunity of  her  humiliation,  entered  into  negotiation  with 
Sparta ;  and  even  Pei-sia  tried  to  secure  her  help  to  drive 
the  Athenians  fix>m  their  possessions  in  Asia  Minor. 
Tlie  Spai-tans  gladly  entered  into  the  plot,  and,  in  B.C. 
412,  sent  Alkibiades  with  a  small  fleet  to  Chios,  whose 


06 


HISTORY   OP  GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF   GREECE. 


97 


I 


mhabitants  were  induced  to  renounce  their  alliance  ^^ath 
Athens.  Other  towns  followed  their  example,  and  the 
Athenians  were  unable  to  check  the  spirit  of  revolt  At 
last  a  treaty  was  concluded  between  Sparta  and  Persia, 
m  which  the  Asiatic  Greeks  were  handed  over  to  the 
barbarians. 

The  Athenians,   however,  having  assembled   a   lar^e 
force,  subdued  and  ravaged  Chios,  and  compelled  most  of 
the  revolted  towns  to  return  to  their  allegiance.     Another 
force,  under  Phrynichos,  attacked  Miletus,  where  it  had 
to  contend  against  the  Persian  Tissaphemes  and  Alki- 
biades ;  but  as  a  strong  auxiliary  force  arrived  from  Syi-a- 
kuse,  Phrynichos  had  to  retreat  to  Samos.     The  Athenian 
ascendancy  at  sea  was  indeed  maintained,  but  Miletus 
and  some  other  towns  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  ene- 
mies of  Athens      Alkibiades,  who  had  become  suspected 
by  his  Spai-tan  friends,  induced  Tissaphemes  to  withdraw 
his  support  from  them,  and  to  allow  the  Athenians  and 
bpartans  to  weaken  each  other.     This  advice  was  followed 
and  caused  no  small  loss  to  Sparta.     The  object  of  Alki- 
biades, however,  had  not  been  to  benefit  Persia  more  than 
Athens.     His  desire  was  to  weaken  his  countrymen  only 
so  f^  as  to  make  them  feel  the  need  of  himself,  and  thus 
to  efiect  his  recall.     With  this  view,  he  worked  upon  the 
A^theman  army  at  Samos,  and  induced  Peisander  to  fro 
fco  Athens  with  certain  proposals  and  the  assurance  that 
Iissaphernes  was  ready  to  join  them.     The  plan,  up  to  a 
certain  point,  succeeded,  but  as  Alkibiades  in  his   pro- 
posals insisted  upon  the  establishment  of  an  oligarchical 
government,  all  negotiation  was  broken  off.     The  oligar- 
chical party  at  Athens,  however,  in  b.c.  411,  succeeded 
m  establishing  a   form  of  government  after  their  own 
heart,  and  the  same  revolution  was  effected  in  many  of 
the  allied  states.      The  change  consisted  in  this :   Ten 
men  were  appointed  with  unlimited  power  to  prepare  a 
senes  of  new  laws ;  a  council  of  400  was  elected,  and  the 
franchise  was  limited  to  5000  citizens.     The  chief  pro- 
moters of  this  oligarchical  scheme  were  Peisander,  Thercu- 
menc^,  and  the  orator  Antiphon,     The  new  government 


was  bent  upon  concluding  a  speedy  peace  with  Sparta. 
The  army  at  Samos,  however,  was  utterly  opposed  to  the 
change;  and  when  the  cruel  and  arbitrary  proceedings 
of  the  oligarchs  became  known,  both  the  army  and  the 
fleet  bound  themselves  by  an  oath  to  defend  the  rights  of 
the  people,  and  to  restore  the  democratic  constitution. 

During  this  period  of  internal  discord,  Athens  sus- 
tained some  severe  losses  abroad,  for  many  towns  in  the 
north,  and  even  Eubcea,  revolted,  while  the  Spartans  were 
anxiously  waiting  for  assistance  from  Persia.  But  things 
soon  took  a  different  turn. 

Thrasybulos,  one  of  the  generals  at  Samos,  prevailed 
upon  the  army  to  recall  Alkibiades,  who  was  at  once 
chosen  by  the  soldiers  as  one  of  their  commanders,  and 
contrived  to  make  Tissaphemes  believe  that  he  was  all- 
powerful  with  his  countrymen,  hoping  thereby  to  induce 
the  satrap  openly  to  declare  against  Sparta.  Envoys 
from  Athens  now  came  to  Samos  to  exculpate  and  justify 
the  ruling  oligarchs.  But  the  army  refused  to  listen  to 
them,  and  would  have  proceeded  to  Athens  at  once  to 
depose  the  oligarchs,  had  it  not  been  for  the  moderate 
counsels  of  Alkibiades.  The  change,  however,  was 
brought  about  by  the  quarrels  among  the  oligarchs 
themselves,  and  Theramenes  contrived  to  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  counter-revolution,  as  the  oligarchs  were 
suspected  of  plotting  with  Sparta.  When,  therefore,  a 
Peloponnesian  fleet  actually  appeared  off  the  coast  of 
Attika,  the  people  hurried  to  their  ships  and  attacked  it ; 
but  they  were  defeated  with  great  loss,  which,  for  the 
moment,  made  them  almost  despair.  They  soon  re- 
covered, however,  and  an  assembly  was  convened  in 

which  the  oligarchy  was  deposed  and  Alkibiades  recall-ad. 
Peisander  and  other  leaders  of  the  hateful  party  took  to 
flight,  and  found  shelter  in  the  enemy's  camp  at  Dekeleia. 
MindaroSf  the  Spartan  admiral,  tired  of  waiting  in 
vain  for  help  from  Tissaphemes,  sailed  to  the  Hellespont 
to  try  his  luck  with  Phamahazus,  another  Persian 
satrap.  He  was  followed  by  the  Athenian  fleet,  which 
gained  a  great  victory  over  him;  and  a  second  na^al 

a 


Hii 


98 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


99 


M 


11 


battle  was  fought  near  Abydos,  in  which,  owing  to  the 

skilful  management  of  Alkibiades,  the  Athenians  were 
again  victorious.  Tissaphernes  had  by  this  time  likewise 
arrived  in  that  part  of  Asia,  and  as  Alkibiades  was  trying 
definitely  to  win  him  over  to  Athens,  he  was  arrested  by 
the  satrap  and  sent  to  Sardes,  because  the  king,  it  was 
said,  wished  to  continue  the  war  against  Athens.  After 
a  short  time,  Alkibiades  escaped,  returned  to  the  Athen- 
ian fleet,  and  fought  a  great  battle  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Kyzikos,  in  which  Mindaros  was  kUled.  The  Pelo- 
ponnesian  army  fled,  and  the  whole  fleet  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Athenians,  B.C.  410.    The  Athenians  now 

continued  their  victorious  career,  and  recovered  all  that 
had  been  lost  on  the  Hellespont,  while  the  condition  of 
the  Peloponnesians  seemed  hopeless,  for  in  Attika,  too, 
the  attacks  from  Dekeleia  were  successfully  repelled. 

In  B.C.  409,  Chalkedon  and  Byzantium  surrendered 
to  the  Athenians.  After  these  brilliant  successes,  Alki- 
biades, in  B.C.  408,  returned  to  Athens,  where  all  accusa- 
tions against  him  were  forgotten,  and  where  for  a  time 
he  became  the  idol  of  the  people.  Shortly  after,  he  was 
Hcnt  with  a  large  fleet  to  the  island  of  Andros,  which  had 
revolted ;  and  as  he  was  unable  to  reduce  it,  his  enemies 
made  the  people  believe  that  the  failure  was  owing  solely 
to  his  want  of  goodwill;  and  of  this  they  were  the 
more  easily  persuaded,  because  they  thought  him  capable 
of  accomplishing  anything  if  he  only  wished  it. 

After  the  death  of  Mindaros,  the  command  of  the 
Peloponnesian  fleet  was  undertaken  by  Lysander^  an  able 
man,  and  a  worthy  opponent  of  Alkibiades.  He  hap- 
pened to  be  waiting  at  Ephesus  for  the  arrival  of  Kyros, 
the  king's  son,  a  zealous  supporter  of  Sparta.  One  of  the 
officers  of  Alkibiades,  contrary  to  orders,  attacked  Ly- 
sander,  and  this  led  to  a  general  engagement,  which 
ended  unfortunately  for  the  Athenians.  Alkibiades, 
unable  to  repair  the  loss,  sailed  to  Samos.  There  the 
disaster  was  ascribed  to  his  own  carelessness,  and  he  was 
deposed  by  the  army,  B.C.  407.  Knowing  the  influence 
of  his  enemies  at  home,  Alkibiades  went  into  voluntary 


exile  to  the  Thracian  Chersonesus,  and  never  saw  his 
country  again,  though  his  attachment  to  it  remained 
undiminished.  Ko7ion,  the  ablest  of  his  generals,  now 
undertook  the  command  of  the  army  at  Samos. 

Lysander  was  succeeded  by  Kallikratidas,  who  in  his 
firet  encounter  with  Konon,  defeated  him  with  great  loss. 
The  Athenians,  on  being  informed  of  this,  speedUy 
equipped  another  numerous  fleet,  and  near  a  gi'oup  of 
small  islands,  called  Arginusw,  defeated  the  Pelopon- 
nesians in  a  battle  in  which  Kallikratidas  was  killed,  and 
seventy  ships  were  lost.  After  the  battle  a  violent  storm 
arose,  which  rendered  it  impossible  for  the  Athenian 
genei^ls  to  collect  the  shipwrecked  and  the  corpses.  For 
this,  an  accusation  was  brought  against  them  at  Athens, 
and  they  were  ordered  to  return  to  be  tried.  Six  of 
them  who  obeyed  the  order  went  into  their  own  destruc- 
tion, for  the  people,  goaded  on  by  demagogues,  condemned 
them  all  in  a  body  to  deatL  Theramenes,  one  of  the 
generals,  saved  himself  by  throwing  all  the  blame  on  his 
colleagues.  On  that  occasion,  Sokrates  was  one  of  the 
few  who  boldly  condemned  the  proceedings  against  the 

generals  as  unjust. 

Upon  the  death  of  Kallikratidas,  Lysander  again 
obtained  the  command  of  the  Peloponnesian  forces.  In 
B.C.  405,  he  joined  the  fleet  at  Ephesus  with  large  rein- 
forcements, and  soon  after  sailed  to  the  Hellespont, 
whither  he  was  followed  by  the  Athenians.  The  latter 
encamped  near  a  place  called  jEgospotamiy  opposite  to 
Lampsakos,  where  the  men  had  to  leave  their  ships,  in 
order  to  collect  provisions.  Alkibiades,  who  lived  in 
the  neighbourhood  and  saw  their  carelessness,  cautioned 
them ;  but  his  advice  was  scorned.  One  day,  when  the 
Athenians,  in  their  usual  manner,  were  scattered  over 
the  country,  Lysander  attacked  their  fleet ;  and  Konon, 
unable  to  assemble  his  forces,  took  to  flight.  The  ships 
were  captured,  and  the  men  on  shore  were  killed  or 
taken  prisoners.  Lysander  then  proceeded  to  subdue 
the  allies  of  Athens,  one  after  another,  and  sent  their 
garrisons  to  Athens,  in  the  hope  of  thereby  creating  a 


100 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


famine  in  the  city.  While  this  was  going  on  in  the 
north,  the  Peloponnesian  land-forces  assembled,  and 
encamped  close  to  the  gates  of  Athens ;  and  soon  after, 
Lysander  appeared  with  his  fleet  before  Peirseeus. 
Athens  was  thus  shut  in  on  all  sides,  and  the  people, 
though  without  means  of  defending  themselves,  re- 
fused to  surrender,  until,  compelled  by  famine,  they 
entered  into  negotiation  with  the  enemy.  They  were 
referred  to  the  authorities  at  Sparta,  and  at  last  had  to 
accept  the  following  hard  tenus  :  1.  The  long  walls  and 
the   fortifications   of  Peii-aeeus  were  to  be  demolished; 

2.  All  ships    except   twelve  were   to    be  delivered  up; 

3.  All  the  exiled  oligarchs  were  to  be  recalled ;  4.  Athens 
was  to  have  the  same  friends  and  enemies  as  Sparta; 
5.  All  the  allies  of  Athens  were  to  be  restored  to  inde- 
pendence, and  Athens  was  to  recognise  the  supremacy  of 
Sparta.  Theramenes,  who  had  negotiated  this  peace, 
advised  the  desponding  people  to  accept  it.  The  terms 
were  at  once  complied  with,  and  when  Lysander  entered 
Peirseeus,  the  work  of  demolition  was  commenced.  Thus 
ended  the  Peloponnesian  war,  b.c.  404,  in  which  more 
blood  had  been  shed  than  in  all  the  previous  wars  put 
together,  and  in  which  Greece  had  become  so  much 
exhausted  that  she  might  easily  have  become  the  prey  of 
a  foreign  conqueror. 


THREE   FIGURES  FROM   PARTHENON. 

CHAPTER  IX. 


FROM   THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   PELOPONNESIAN   WAR   TO   THE 


ACINS  Ol-  THE  AKROPOIOS  Of  ATHXNS. 


I   /      ,  ,        s,    .-  PEACE   OF   ANTALKIDAS. 

When  the  work  of  demolition  was  completed,  Lysander 
changed  the  government  of  Athens  into  an  oligarchy. 
Thirty  men,  commonly  called  the  Thirty  Tyrants^  were 
selected  from  among  the  partisans  of  Sparta,  and  entrusted 
with  almost  unlimited  power.  The  franchise  was  left  to 
only  3000  citizens,  who  alone  were  allowed  to  carry 
arms,  and  all  the  rest  were  placed  beyond  the  protection 
of  the  law.  After  settling  these  matters,  Lysander,  laden 
with  booty,  returned  to  Sparta. 

The  Thirty,  headed  by  the  wealthy  Kritias,  at  first 
punished  only  the  obnoxious  demagogues,  but  by-and-by 
they  were  not  slow  in  finding  pretexts  for  outlawing 

wealthy  citizens,  for  no  other  reason  but  because  they 
wished  to  possess  themselves  of  their  property.  They 
inaugurated,  in  fact,  a  reign  of  terror,  during  which 
nearly  1400  Athenian  citizens  fell  victims  to  their 
cruelty  and  avarice.  About  5000  took  to  flight,  and 
even  towns  previously  hostile  to  Athens  took  pity 
upon  the  unfortunate  exiles.  The  reckless  cruelty  of 
the  Thirty  went  so  far  that  even  Theramenes,  one  of 
their  number,  expressed  his  disgust  at  their  proceedings. 
Kritias  thereupon  charged  him  with  treason,  and  had  his 
name  struck  off  the  list  of  citizens,  whereby  he  became 
an  outlaw.    He  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  had  to  take 


<. 


102 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


niSTORY   OP  GREECE. 


103 


JH,! 


I' 


the  deadly  hemlock.  He  bore  his  fate  manfully,  and 
thus  made  some  atonement  for  the  offences  of  his  rather 
equivocal  career. 

But  the  day  of  retribution  was  not  far  off.  Thrasy- 
hulos,  one  of  the  exiles,  and  an  able  general,  had  at  first 
gone  to  Thebes ;  but  being  joined  by  seventy  other  exiles, 
he  had  taken  possession  of  the  small  fortress  of  Phylae, 
in  the  north  of  Attika.  Notwithstanding  the  precautions 
of  the  Thirty,  the  number  of  exiles  assembling  in  that 
place  soon  rose  to  700 ;  and  supported  by  them,  Thrasy- 
bulos,  after  defeating  the  forces  of  the  tyriints,  proceeded 
to  Peirseeus.  The  Thirty,  fearing  treachery  in  the  city, 
ordered  300  suspected  citizens  to  be  put  to  death,  and 
then  marched  down  to  Peirseeus,  where  a  battle  was 
fought,  in  which  the  exiles  were  victorious,  and  Kritias, 
with  many  of  his  followers,  was  slain.  The  vanquished 
army  retreated  into  the  city,  and  the  survivors  of  the 
Thirty  withdrew  to  Eleusis.  Their  friends  in  the  city, 
failing  in  the  attempt  to  effect  a  compromise,  sent  to 
Sparta  for  assistance.  An  army,  under  Lysander,  and  a 
fleet  were  accordingly  despatched  to  Athens;  but  the 

Spartan  king,  Pausanias,  jealous  of  the  military  glory  of 
Lysander,  came  to  an  understanding-  with  Thrasybulos, 
who  generously  proclaimed  a  genei'al  amnesty,  from  which 
the  survivors  of  the  Thirty  and  their  most  guilty  tools 
alone  were  exempted. 

After  this,  Thrasybulos  proceeded  to  the  city,  and 
exhorted  the  people  to  maintain  peace  and  order,  and  to 
restore  their  old  constitution.  This  advice  was  cheerfully 
followed ;  but  when  it  became  known  that  the  oligarchs 
at  Eleusis  were  planning  an  attack  upon  Athens,  the 
citizens  marched  out  in  a  body,  and  inflicted  summary 
punishment  upon  them.  Such  was  the  end,  in  B.C.  403, 
of  the  rule  of  the  Thirty  and  of  the  year  of  anarchy,  as 
it  is  called  in  Athenian  history.  The  democratic  consti- 
tution was  then  restored,  and  a  commission  of  500  men 
was  appointed  to  revise  the  laws. 

Athens,  though  humbled  and  broken  down,  showed  in 
the  midst  of  its  distress  a  spiiit  and  a  vitality  such  aa 


few  other  states  have  manifested  in  similar  circumstances. 
Her  intellectual  vigour  and  activity  continued,  as  if 
nothing  unusual  had  happened.  Ai't  and  literature  in 
some  respects  rose  even  to  a  higher  point  of  perfection 
than  that  attained  in  happier  days.  In  poetry  alone 
there  was  a  falling  off,  for  the  place  of  fancy  and  imagina- 
tion was  gradually  supplied  by  erudition  and  learning. 
The  losses  which  Athens  had  sustained  were  soon  re- 
paired ;  but  the  case  of  Sparta,  though  she  had  come  out 
of  the  war  victorious,  was  very  different.    The  effects  of 

her  victory  were  ruinous  to  the  character  of  her  people. 
Foreign  manners  and  luxuries  found  their  way  into 
Sparta,  and  formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the  spirit  of  her 
ancient  constitution,  of  which  the  outward  forms  were 
nevertheless  still  observed.  Owing  to  the  intercourse 
with  other  nations,  the  use  of  money  was  introduced 
among  the  Spartans;  and  as  they  were  of  an  avaricious 
disposition.  Spartan  citizens  soon  became  richer  than 
those  of  any  other  state;  but  the  great  wealth  was 
accumulated  in  a  few  families.  The  number  of  9000 
citizens,  owing  to  their  spiiit  of  exclusiveness,  is  said  to 
have  been  reduced  to  700,  and  even  of  these,  no  more 
than  100  enjoyed  the  full  franchise,  and  lived  in  haughty 
seclusion  from  the  rest  of  the  people. 

At  Athens,  on  the  other  hand,  the  number  of  citizens 
was  not  materially  diminished  by  the  war  and  the  pesti- 
lence, for  aliens,  and  even  slaves,  were  frequently  re- 
warded with  the  franchise  for  having  benefited  the  state 
by  commerce  or  industry.  It  is  true  that  unprincipled 
demagogues  often  exercised  an  injurious  influence  upon 
the  people,  and  led  them  to  spend  large  sums  upon  plea- 
sures and  amusements,  which  might  have  been  better 
employed  in  the  public  service,  but  the  mass  of  the 
people  on  all  occasions  displayed  a  peculiarly  noble  and 
humane  disposition.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  wise 
Thrasybulos  they  reformed  the  old  constitution  so  far  as 
to  make  it  a  modemte  democracy,  under  the  watchful 
supervision  of  the  Areiopagos;  and  henceforth  Athens 
enjoyed  a  period  of  intexiial  tranquillity,  until  the  time 


104 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


105 


of  Philip  of  Macedonia,   when  pai-ty  animosities  again 
began  to  disturb  her  peace  and  happiness. 
yf^  ^  The  golden  age  of  Attic  art  and  literature  embraces  a 
;r^     period  of  about  200  years,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
s.  i  Persian  wars  down  to  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
0^>During  the  first  half  of  that  period,  poetry,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  reached  its  highest  development ;  and  dur- 
ing the  latter,   oratory,  philosophy,  and  historiography 
were  cultivated  with  unparalleled  success  by  such  men  as 
Perikles  and  DemosthemSy  Sokrates  and  Plato,  and  Thuhj- 
dides  and  Xenophon.     Sokrates,  indeed,  did  not  himself 
write  any  works,  and  we  know  him  chiefly  through  the 
writings  of  his  disciples,  Xenophon  and  Plato.     He  was 
truly  said  to  have  called  philosophy  down  from  heaven, 
and  to  have  introduced  it  into  the  habitations  of  men,  for 
before  his  time,  philosophers  had  speculated  about  out- 
ward nature,   the  origin  of  the  imiverse,  etc. ;    but  he 
directed  all  his  attention  to  the  moral  nature  of  man  and 
his  duties  and  relations  to  his  fellowmen.     The  novelty 
and  method  of  his  teaching,  together  with  his  leaning 
towards  an  aristocratic  form  of  government,  led  his  ene- 
mies to  charge  him  with  con-upting  the  young,  and  with 
disregarding  the  publicly  recognised  gods.    When  brought 
to  trial,  he  defended  himself  fearlessly,  disdaining  to  em- 
ploy any  unlawful  means  to  obtain  his  acquittal,  and  when 
he  was  condemned  to  death  at  the  age  of  seventy,  he 
cheerfully  drank  the  fatal  cup,  and  died  in  B.C.  399. 

We  must  now  briefly  notice  an  episode  which,  though 
properly  no  part  of  the  history  of  Greece,  throws  light 
upon  the  character  of  its  people.  Kyros,  a  younger 
brother  of  the  Persian  king,  Artaxerxes,  had  formed  the 
design  to  overthrow  his  brother  and  seize  upon  his 
throne.  With  this  object  in  view,  he  had  favoured 
Sparta  in  her  war  against  the  Athenians,  and  with  her 
assistance  he  now  collected  an  army  of  malcontents  from 
all  parts  of  Greece.  With  this  army,  he  set  out  from 
Sardes,  in  b.c.  401.  He  encountered  his  brother  at 
Kunaxa,  where  a  battle  was  fought,  in  which  Kyros  was 
killed.     But  the  Greeks  refused  to  surrender,  and  after 


having  been  treacherously  drawn  into  the  interior  of 
Asia,  their  leadei-s  were  murdered.  iXenophony  the  Athen- 
ian historian,  who  had  accompanied  the  army  as  a 
volunteer,  now  undertook  the  command  of  his  country- 
men, dispelled  their  despair,  and  promised  to  conduct 
them  back  to  Greece.  They  marched  northward  through 
unknown  countries,  pursued  by  their  enemies,  attacked 
by  the  fierce  natives,  and  struggling  with  all  kinds  of 
untoward  difficulties,  until  they  reached  the  Greek  town 
of  Trapezus,  on  the  Euxine.  Their  number,  originally 
about  13,000,  was  reduced  during  their  march  to  8000. 
This  retreat  of  the  Greeks  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
in  military  history,  and  has  been  minutely  described  by 

Xenophon  himself  in  his  "  Anabasis." 

When,  after  the  death  of  Kyros,  Tissaphernes  received 
the  government  of  Asia  Minor,  the  Greek  cities  refused 
to  obey  him,  and  invoked  the  assistance  of  Sparta.  Thim- 
hron  accordingly  was  sent  out  with  a  large  force,  but 
effected  little ;  and  his  successor,  Derkyllidas,  by  negotia- 
tion gained  over  many  of  the  -^olian  towns,  and  then 
proceeded  to  the  north  to  secure  the  Greek  cities  on  the 
coast  of  Thrace.  Tissaphernes,  with  another  Persian 
satrap,  met  the  Greek  army  on  the  banks  of  the  Mseander, 
but  instead  of  fighting  a  battle,  a  truce  was  concluded, 
B.C.  397,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  terms  of  a 
peace  proposed  by  Derkyllidas,  who  demanded  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Asiatic  Greeks.  The  proposal  was 
accepted,  on  condition  that  the  Greek  garrisons  should  be 
withdrawn  from  the  towns. 

The  year  before  this,  the  Spartan  king,  Agis,  had  died, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  Agesilaos,  one  of  the 
ablest  generals  that  Sparta  ever  produced.  At  the  very 
beginning  of  his  reign,  a  conspiracy  of  the  poor,  headed 
by  Kinadon,  was  formed  against  the  wealthy  Spartans, 
but  was  crushed  by  the  prudence  of  Agesilaos.  As  it 
became  known  that  Pei-sia  was  making  preparations  for 
subduing  the  Asiatic  Greeks,  Agesilaos  and  Lysander 
sailed  with  a  large  armament  to  Ephesus;  but  Tissa- 
phernes, not  being  quite  ready,  concluded  a  truce,  only 


1G6 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF  GREECE. 


lor 


to  gam  time  to  collect  his  forces.  When  Agesilaos  saw 
through  this  scheme,  he  marched  against  the  treacherous 
Persian,  and  completely  defeated  him  in  the  neighbour- 
hood  of  Sardes.  Tissaphemes,  in  consequence  of  this 
loss,  was  deprived  of  his  post,  and  put  to  death  by  bis 
successor,  Tithraustes,  who  bribed  the  Spartan  king  to 
direct  his  forces  against  Phamabazus,  another  satrap.  In 
this  undertaking,  Agesilaos  was  so  successful  that  he 
formed  a  plan  of  carrying  the  war  into  the  heart  of 
Persia;  but  in  the  midst  of  his  preparations  for  this 
expedition  he  was  recalled  to  Sparta,  B.C.  394. 

While  Agesilaos  had  been  pursuing  his  victorious 
career,  Tithraustes  had  been  stirring  up,  by  bribery,  the 
Greeks  against  Sparta,  and  accordingly  a  coalition '  was 
foraied  by  the  leading  states  against  the  Spartans,  who 
had  become  odious  to  all  the  Greeks,  on  account  of  the 
cruelty  of  the  governoi-s  (harmostse)  whom  she  had  sent 
into  the  cities  which  she  professed  to  have  freed  from  the 

tyi-anny  of  Athens.      The  Phokians,  being  attacked  by 
the  Lokrians,  applied  to  Sparta  for  assistance.     An  army, 
commanded  by  Lysander,  was  despatched  to  the  scene  of 
the  war,  and  on  its  passage  through  Boeotia,  in  B.C.  395, 
made  an  attack  upon  Haliartos.      The  Thebans,  siding 
with  the  Lokrians,  hastened  to  the  assistance  of  the  town, 
and   m    the    ensuing    engagement  Lysander  was   killed. 
The  confederates  now  held  a  meeting  at  Korinth,  and 
their  alliance  was  readily  joined  by  other  states.     At  the 
same  time,  the  King  of  Persia  engaged  Konon,  a  dis- 
tinguished Athenian  exile,  to  equip  a  fleet  against  Spai-ta; 
and  it  was  at  this  critical  moment  that  Agesilaos  was 
recalled.  ^  He  came  down  through  the  northern  countries, 
and  on  his  arrival  in  Greece  the  war  with  the  confeder' 
ates  had  already  commenced.     They  tried  to  prevent  the 
Spartans  from  proceeding  northward,  but  were  defeated 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Nemea.     When,  at  last,  Agesi- 
laos  arrived  in    Ba3otia,  late  in  the  year  B.C.   394    he 
received  infonnation  that  the  whole  of  the  Spai-tan  fleet 
had  been  utterly  defeated  off*  Knidos.     A  few  day.s  later, 
-Agesilaos  engaged  in  a  battle  against  the  confederates 


near  Koroneia,  where  both  parties  fought  with  the  utmost 
exasperation,  but  Agesilaos  gained  the  day.  He  then 
went  home  and  disbanded  his  army.  The  war,  however, 
was  continued  in  the  territory  of  Korinth  with  the 
greatest  bitterness;  and  although  the  Korinthian  port 
of  Lechseon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Spartans,  yet 
the  Korinthians,  aided  by  the  Athenian  Iphikrates, 
maintained  themselves  successfully  against  their  enemies, 
who  were  now  commanded  by  Agesilaos.  The  Greek 
cities  in  Asia  Minor  had,  in  the  meantime,  been  de- 
livered from  their  Spartan  governors  with  the  help  of    -^  O  '\ 

Konon  and  Phamabazus,  both  of  whom,  in  B.C.  393,  J  / ) 

ravaged  the  coasts  otLakonia,  and  seized  the  island  of 
Kythera.  The  Greeks  were  amply  supplied  by  Persia 
with  subsidies  against  Sparta,  and  Konon  even  obtained 
the  consent  of  Phamabazus  to  rebuild  the  walls  of  Athens, 
a  work  which  was  completed  as  early  as  392.  Sparta's 
maritime  power  was  now  gone,  and  Athens  "was  fast 
recovering  her  former  supremacy.  But  the  Spartans,  in 
order  to  avenge  themselves,  had  recourse  to  intrigues  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  the  power  and  influence  of 
Konon.  The  crafty  AntalMdas  was  sent  out  to  make  to 
the  Persian  satrap,  Tiiibazus,  proposals  of  a  peace  in 
which  the  Asiatic  Greeks  were  to  be  handed  over  to  the 
king.  The  satrap,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of 
Konon  and  others,  entered  into  the  scheme,  and  even 
supplied  Sparta  with  the  means  of  building  another  fleet, 
and  then  took  Konon  prisoner.  But  soon  after,  quarrels 
arose  among  the  satraps,  who  then  gave  up  their  support 
of  Sparta,  and  transferred  it  to  Athens. 

In  Europe,  the  Spartans  had,  in  the  meantime,  gained 
some  advantages,  and  checked  some  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  Athenians.  In  these  circumstances,  the  latter 
sent  out  the  aged  Thrasyhulos  with  a  considerable  fleet, 
with  which  he  was  at  first  very  successful  on  the  coast  of 
Thi-ace  and  in  the  ^gsean,  but  he  fell  in  an  engagement 
at  Aspendos.  This  bmve  and  noble  commander  was 
succeeded  by  the  reckless  and  effeminate  AgyrrhioSj  in 
consequence  of  which  the  Spai*tans  recovered  many  of 


108 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


their  lost  places,  and  even  harassed  Attika  from  the 
island  of  ^grna,  of  which  they  had  made  themselves 
mastera. 

While  these  things  were  going  on  in  Greece,  Antal- 
kidas  again  went  to  Asia,  determined  this  time  to  brin- 
about  a  peace  ^th  Persia.  The  plan  waa  facilitated  by 
the  fact  that  the  Athenians,  tired  of  the  war,  were  also 
turning  their  thoughts  to  peace.  Accordingly,  they  also, 
joined  by  the  Korinthians  and  Argives,  sint  envoys  to 

^  -  'I'i   .  »  "i '  ^""^  *  ^^^'  commoaly  called  the  Peace  of 
^  il^ntalhda^,  was  concluded  in  b.c.  387,  on  the  foUowine 

terms :  That  the  Greek  cities  in  A;ia,  together  wUh 
Klazomen*  and  Kyprus,  should  belong  to  Persia ;  but 
that  all  other  Greek  towns  should  be  free  and  indepen- 
dent, with  the  exception  of  the  islands  of  Lemnos. 
Imbros,  and  Skyros,  which  belonged  to  the  Atheniana 
According  to  this  peace,  the  leading  states  ought  to  have 
set  free  the  smaller  towns  in  their  respective  territories. 
But  Thebes  and  Argos,  not  being  inclined  to  comply  with 
this  stipulation,  had  to  be  compelled  by  threats.  Sparta, 
Itself,  which  ought  to  have  set  an  example  to  the  othe^ 
Ind  M^eX      ^  ""^""^  '*"  sovereignty  over  Lakonia 


GREEK   WARRIUB. 


<^. 


BESTO«£i>  PABXHKNOK. 

n  tJBAPTER  X 

FROM  THEA  peace  OF  ANTALKIDAS  TO  THE  BATTLE  OF 
%        !  CH^RONEIA. 

The  peace  of  Antalkidas  was  never  completely  carried 
out,  so  far  as  the  towns  of  Greece  were  concemed. 

Sparta  not  only  maintained  the  sovereignty  over  her 
former  subjects,  but  extended  it  over  the  whole  of  Pelo- 
ponnesus, with  the  exception  of  Argos,  which  maintained 
its  independence.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  Sparta  even 
presumed  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  the  states  of 
Northern  Greece.  These  latter  endeavoured  to  secure 
themselves  by  a  coalition,  of  which  Olynthos  was  the 
head.  A  report  that  Athens  and  Bceotia  intended  to 
join  the  coalition,  led  the  Spartans  to  send  out  a  force 
under  Eudamidas,  who  at  once  took  possession  of  Poti- 
dsea.  Soon  after,  a  larger  army  followed,  under  the 
command  of  PJwehidas.  While  he  was  passing  through 
Boeotia,  the  oligarchical  party  at  Thebes  betrayed  the 
city  into  his  hands,  and  Ismenias,  the  leader  of  the 
popular  party,  was  arrested  and  put  to  death.  The  prin- 
cipal men  of  the  popular  party,  about  300  in  number, 
took  refuge  in  Athens.     One  of  them  was  Felopidas, 

whose  eminent  friend  Epaminondds  remained  at  Thebes 
unmolested,  because  there  was  nothing  about  him  to 
frighten  the  oligarchs. 

The  war  against  Olynthos  lasted  from  B.C.  383  to  379, 
when  its  inhabitants  were  compelled  by  famine  to  con- 


I 


110 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


dude  a  peace  in  which  they  had  to  recognise  the  snpre- 
macy  of  their  conquerors.  Sparta  had  now  reached  tlie 
height  of  Its  power  and  influence,  for  the  other  states 
were  too  much  weakened  to  venture  upon  a  fresh  war. 
i>ut  the  year  of  Sparta's  greatest  prosperity  wa^  also  the 
beginning  of  her  decline.  ^      xr       j 

Peloindas,   in   conjunction   with   a   small   number   of 
fe  low-exiles,  formed  the  plan  of  delivering  his  native 
city,  which  wa^  kept  m  subjection  by  a  Spartan  garrison. 
Cue  night  he  and  his  friends  entered' Thebes  in  disguis^, 
and  being  joined  by  others,  they  proceeded  to  the  houses  of 
the  o  igarchs  and  put  them  to  death.     The  citizens,  bein«. 
called  out  to  assert  their  freedom,  assembled  at  daybreak 
m  arms,  while  an  Athenian  force  was  hastening  to  their 
assistance.     The  Spartan  harmost  was  obliged  to  capitu- 
ate,  but  he  and  his  garrison  were  allowed  to  depart 
unhurt  and  only  those  who  had  assisted  in  betrayin/the 
city  into  the  enemy's  hands  were  punished,  with  death. 
When  Sparta  was  informed  of  these  events,  she  resolved 

ITTtl  ^^ir''  ^^JTf  ^^  ^™^'  ^-^  *^-  commenLd 
the  Ihehan  War,  which  lasted  from  B.C.  378  to  362  •  but 

it  was  not  confined  to  these  two  states,  all  Greece  t^kincr 

Epaminondas,  Thebes  recovered  the  supremacy  over  the 
Bceotian  towns,  and  Athens  her  maritime  ascendancy 
while  Sparta  was  humbled.     But  the  unfortunate  war  of 

tx  irdont"'^  ^"'^'  ^'^  ^^^  '^^  *^-  -^i"»- 

..^''^^^■^^\^^^\^^IJ^'''^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^  invaded  and 
ravaged  Boeotia,  the  Thebans  maintaining  the  defensive 

behind  their  fortifications,  while  Pelopidls  fortd  and 
tmined  an  exce  lent  army.  Athens,  now  in  alliance  with 
Thebes,  brought  about  a  powerful  confederation  against 
Sparta  and  concluded  alliances  with  the  principal  mari- 
time  states,  such  as  Chios,  Byzantium,'  Rhodes,  and 
Mitylene.  Its  navy  was  thereby  greatly  increased,  and 
Its  wisdom  and  moderation  secured  to  it  the  confidence 
and  attachment  of  its  confederates.  In  the  third  year 
01  tlie  war,  the  Lakedaemonians  were  repulsed   by  the 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


Ill 


Athenians  in  their  attempt  to  march  into  Boeotia.  Upon 
this  the  Spartans  equipped  a  fleet,  partly  to  transport 
their  troops  into  Boeotia,  and  partly  to  harass  the  coasts 
of  Attika ;  but  it  was  destroyed  off  Naxos  by  the  Athen- 
ians under  Chahrias,  and  at  the  same  time  an  Athenian 
fleet  under  Timotheos  laid  waste  the  coasts  of  Pelopon- 
nesus, and  induced  Kephalenia,  Akarnania,  and  some 
Epirot  tribes  to  join  the  Athenian  confederacy.  By  this 
means,  Thebes  was  protected  against  any  further  attacks, 
and  enabled  to  effect  the  submission  of  the  Boeotian 
towns. 

The  success  of  Thebes,  however,  was  beginning  to  excite 
fear  and  alarm  at  Athens,  and  thus  led  the  Athenians  to 
conclude  a  peace  with  Sparta,  on  the  basis  of  that  of  An- 
talkidas.    The  Thebans,  of  course,  refused  to  be  a  party 

to  it ;  and  some  Boeotian  towns  trying  to  assert  their 
freedom,  were  razed  to  the  ground.  Athens,  however, 
pursued  her  own  course,  leaving  Sparta  to  continue  the 
war  against  Thebes.  The  feeling  then  prevailing  in 
Greece  was  almost  like  that  which  had  divided  the  nation 
during  the  Peloponnesian  war,  for  everywhere  the  oli- 
garchs were  at  war  with  the  democracy,  and  being  no 
longer  supported  by  Sparta,  the  democrats  nearly  every- 
where gained  the  upper  hand.  The  Athenian  general 
Ipldkrates  was  fighting  successfully  in  the  cause  of  demo- 
cracy, when  in  B.C.  373,  negotiations  for  peace  were  again 
commenced,  the  King  of  Persia  being  this  time  invited  to 
act  as  mediator.  Accordingly  the  peace  of  Antalkidas 
was  renewed  and  accepted  by  both  Athens  and  Sparta, 
but  Thebes  did  not  join  in  it,  as  she  insisted  upon  main- 
taining her  supremacy  over  the  Boeotian  towns. 
/y>  Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  this  peace,  the 

Spartan  king,  Kleortihrotos,  invaded  Boeotia,  but  the 
Thebans,  though  without  allies,  being  commanded  by 
her  brave  and  able  citizens,  Pelopidas  and  Epaminondas, 
gaiaed  a  most  complete  victory  at  Leuktra,  in  B.C.  371. 
In  that  battle,  Kleombrotos  with  400  Spartans,  and 
upwards  of  3000  Lakonians,  were  slain.  Sparta's  mili- 
tary prestige  was  gone,  and  her  Peloponnesian  subjects 


I  ■ 


\i\ 


112 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


113 


began  to  throw  off  her  yoke.     All  the  Arkadian  com- 
munities united  and  began  to  build  a  gi-eat  capital,  called 
Megalopolis.     They  relied  upon  help  from  Thebes,  which, 
after  strengthening  itself  by  several  new  alliances,  invaded 
Peloponnesus,  in  B.C.  369,  under  the  command  of  Pelopi- 
das  and  Epaminondas.    On  their  arrival  in  the  peninsula, 
they  were  joined  by  many  Peloponnesians,  and  marched 
against  Sparta.      The   Spartans  were  almost  paralysed 
With  fear,  but  as  the  first  attack  on  the  city  produced 
little  effect,  Epaminondas  proceeded  to  Gythion,  which 
he  set  on  fire,  and  then  turned  into  Messenia.     Large 
numbers  of  Helots  and  Spartan  subjects  here  flocked  to 
his   standards,  and  he   proclaimed  the  independence  of 
Messenia,  the  severest  blow  that  could  have  been  inflicted 
on  Sparta.     Messenians  from  all  parts  were  invited  to 
return  to  their  ancient  homes,  and  the  building  of  a  new 
capital,  Messene,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Ithome,  was  forth- 
with commenced.      After  an  absence  of  scarcely  three 
months,  Epaminondas  returned  home. 

Sparta  in  her  distress  had  applied  to  Athens  for  assist- 
ance, and  with  their  usual  generosity,  the  Athenian 
people  sent  Iphikrates  into  Peloponnesus,  but  he  was 
unable  to  cut  off  the  return  of  Epaminondas.  A  treaty 
of  alliance  was  then  concluded  between  Athens  and 
Sparta,  according  to  which  the  command  of  their  united 
forces  should  belong  alternately  to  each  of  the  two  states. 

In  B.C.  368,  Epaminondas  again  invaded  Peloponnesus, 
and  defeated  the  hostile  armies  stationed  on  the  isthmus 
to  prevent  his  entering  the  peninsula.  Several  Pelopon- 
nesian  towns  joined  him  of  their  own  accord,  but  others 
had  to  be  compelled.    The  condition  of  Sparta,  however, 

was  now  somewhat  improved,  for  she  had  received  succour 
from  Sicily ;  and  the  Arkadians,  in  consequence  of  their 
arrogance,  were  forsaken  by  their  Theban  protectors. 
Just  at  this  crisis  the  King  of  Persia  sent  envoys,  advisin<r 
the  belligerents  to  conclude  peace,  but  the  Thebans  pei^ 
emptorily  declared  that  they  would  not  set  free  their  sub- 
jects. The  war  therefore  was  continued,  although  just  then 
another  enemy  arose  in  the  north,  against  whom  Thebes 


had  to  employ  a  part  of  her  forces.  Jason,  tyrant  of 
Pherae,  who  had  the  command  of  all  the  Thessalian  towns, 
seeing  the  distressed  state  of  Greece,  had  conceived  the 
idea  of  making  himself  master  of  it.  He  therefore  had 
tried  to  interfere  in  the  war  between  Thebes  and  Sparta, 
but  soon  after  the  battle  of  Leuktra  he  had  been  assas- 
sinated Alexander,  who  afterwards  succeeded  to  the 
tyraimis,  became  involved  in  a  war  with  Thebes,  in 
consequence  of  which  Pelopidas  in  B.C.  368,  invaded 
Thessaly,  but  was  taken  prisoner,  and  it  was  only  after 
repeated  attempts  that  Epaminondas  succeeded  in  effect- 
ing his  liberation.  Some  years  later,  when  Pelopidaa 
had  again  entered  Thessaly,  to  free  the  towns  from  their 
cruel  and  reckless  tyrant,  he  was  killed  in  a  battle  at 
Kynoskephalae,  though  his  army  was  victorious,  and  com- 
I)elled  the  tyrant  to  restore  the  independence  of  the 
Thessalian  towns,  and  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with 
Thebes,  b.c.  364. 

In  the  meantime  the  Arkadian  state  had  been  crushed, 
in  B.C.  367,  by  the  Spartans  in  a  battle  in  which  10,000 
Arkadians  and  not  a  single  Spartan  are  said  to  have  fallen. 
The  year  after  this  battle,  Epaminondas  invaded  Pelo- 
ponnesus for  th£  third  time,  but  without  producing  any 
histing  effect.  Several  states  indeed  wished  for  peace,  but 
a  war  which  broke  out  in  B.C.  365,  between  Arkadia 
and  Elis,  destroyed  all  hope  of  it.  Sparta  supported 
Ells,  but  the  Arkadians  defeated  both,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  temple  of  Olympia.  A  dispute  then  arose 
among  them  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  the  temple 
treasures,  and  the  Theban  commander  arrested  a  number 
of  persons  who  had  advised  to  spend  the  treasures  upon 
the  army.  The  Arkadians,  Mantineia  at  their  head, 
enraged  at  this  interference,  called  upon  all  the  Pelopon- 
nesians to  assert  their  independence  of  Thebes.  But 
Epaminondas  was  already  approaching  with  allies  from 
Eubcea  and  Thessaly,  and  was  joined  in  Peloponnesus  by 
the  Argives,  Messenians,  and  some  Arkadian  towns. 
The  Lakonians  with  their  allies  were  encamped  near 
Mantineia,   where   Epaminondas  resolved  to  fight  a  de- 

11 


1 

if 


lU 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


cisive  battle.  His  first  attack  was  made  with  such 
vehemence,  that  the  enemies  were  overpowered  and  put 
to  flight,  but  he  himself  w^as  mortally  wounded  in  his 
breast  by  a  spear.  He  refused  to  have  the  weapon 
extracted,  until  he  was  assured  of  the  complete  victory 
of  his  troops.  When  he  was  informed  of  this,  the  iron 
was  removed,  and  he  bled  to  death. 

This  battle  of  Mantineia,  which  was  fought  in  B.c. 
362,  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  Greek  history. 
Thebes,  which  had  for  a  short  period  risen  from  compara- 
tive obscurity,  and  exercised  its  influence  in  the  affairs  of 
Greece,  suddenly  fell  from  its  proud  position,  for  it  owed 
its  power  solely  to  its  two  great  citizens,  Pelopidas  and 
Epaminondas,  and  after  their  death  there  was  no  one  to 
take  their  place.  But  Sparta's  power  was  broken,  and 
a  peace  was  at  length  concluded,  in  B.C.  361,  in  which 
the  independence  of  Messenia  was  recognised.  The  great 
AgesilaoSf  who  had  gone  to  Egypt  to  support  a  rebellion 
against  Persia,  died  in  the  same  year. 

Ever  since  the  time  of  the  Peloponnesian  war,  it  had 
become  more  and  more  customary  among  the  Greeks  to 
carry  on  their  wars  by  means  of  mercenaries,  while  the 
citizens  remained  at  home,  enjoying  the  pleasures  and 
luxuries  of  life,  and  losing  their  warlike  spirit.  Athens, 
which  in  many  respects  was  carried  away  by  the  general 
current,  nevertheless  displayed  at  times  an  energy  and  a 
patriotism  worthy  of  the  descendants  of  the  men  who 
fought  at  Marathon  and  Salamis.  Unprincipled  leadei-s 
of  the  people  often  sold  and  betrayed  their  country,  while 
the  people  thoughtlessly  followed  them  and  allowed  their 
country  to  drift  into  danger. 

While  nearly  all  the  states  of  Greece  were  in  this 
condition,  a  power  was  rising  in  the  north,  which 
threatened  the  independence,  and  in  the  end  crushed  the 
liberty  of  Greece.  That  power  was  the  kingdom  of 
Macedonia,  Its  inhabitants  appear  to  have  been  a  mix- 
ture of  Pelasgians  and  Illyi-ians ;  the  Greeks  called  them 
barbarians — that  is,  foreigners,— but  the  royal  family 
tiiioed  its  origin  to  Karanos,  an  Argive  prince.    The  eai'ly 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


115 


history  of  this  kingdom  is  very  obscure.  The  first  king 
who  did  much  to  introduce  Greek  civilisation  among  his 
subjects  was  Arc/telaoSy  who  reigned  from  B.C.  413  to  B.C. 
399.  We  have  already  noticed  that  the  kings  of  Mace 
donia  occasionally  interfered  in  the  quarrels  of  the  Greeks. 
At  the  time  at  which  we  have  now  arrived,  the  kiagdom 
was  governed  by  Philip,  son  of  Amyntas.  He  had  been 
taken  to  Thebes  as  a  hostage  by  Pelopidas,  when  the 
latter  had  been  called  upon  to  mediate  between  two  pre- 
tenders to  the  throne  of  Macedonia.  Philip  was  still 
living  at  Thebes  in  B.C.  359,  when  the  King  of  Macedonia 
died  ;  he  now  made  his  escape  into  Macedonia  to  establish 
his  claim  to  the  throne.  After  having  got  rid  of  two 
pretenders,  he  came  into  conflict  with  the  Athenians, 
who  were  trying  to  extend  their  dominion  on  the  Thracian 
coast,  while  Philip's  object  was  to  drive  them  altogether 
from  it  During  his  residence  at  Thebes,  he  had  become 
acquainted  with  the  character  and  manners  of  the  Greeks, 
whose  civilisation  he  highly  appreciated.  He  was  a  man 
of  extraordinary  gifts,  uniting  in  his  person  the  prudence, 
cunning,  and  cleverness  of  an  expert  politician,  with  the 
talents  of  a  general,  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  a 
soldier,  and  the  liberality  of  a  king.  His  Macedonian 
army  was  far  superior  to  the  mercenaries  employed  by 
the  Greeks.  When  he  wished  to  obtain  an  object,  he  was 
as  successful  in  the  art  of  bribery  as  in  that  of  war ;  and 
promises,  even  oaths,  were  no  obstacles  to  him,  if  by 
their  violation,  he  could  gain  his  ends. 

While  Philip  was  extending  his  kingdom  in  the  west 
and  in  the  east,  Athens,  being  engaged  in  what  is 
called  the  Social  War,  from  B.C.  357  to  B.C.  355,  was 
unable  to  offer  any  resistance.  The  social  war  was  one 
which  Athens  had  to  wage  against  her  revolted  allies, 
headed  by  Chios.  The  Athenian  commander,  C/iares,  a 
short-sighted  and  incompetent  man,  entered  into  negotia- 
tion with  a  rebellious  Pei-sian  satrap,  in  consequence  of 
which  the  King  of  Persia  threatened  to  support  the  allies 
with  his  fleet.  Athens  was  thereby  frightened  into  con- 
cluding a  i)eace  in  which  she  lost  her  most  valued  allies, 


i 


116 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


and  a  great  part  of  her  revenue.  Philip  of  Macedonia 
had  in  the  meantime  been  called  upon  to  assist  the 
Thessalian  towns  against  Lykophron,  the  tyrant  of  Pherse 
and  murderer  of  his  predecessor.  Philip  accomplished 
the  task,  and  thereby  secured  the  suppoi-t  of  the  Thessalian 
towns  in  his  own  schemes.  He  did  not,  however,  depose 
the  tyrant,  as  he  hoped  to  make  use  of  him  also  in  any 
future  emergency.  Such  an  opportunity  occun-ed  soon 
after  in  what  is  called  the  Sacred  War,  from  B.C.  355  to 
B.C.  346,  which  arose  in  the  following  manner. 

The  Thebans,  still  bent  upon  maintaining  the  position 
they  had  occupied  under  Pelopidas  and  Epaminondas, 
accused  the  Phokians  before  the  Council  of  Amphiktyons 
of  having  taken  into  cultivation  a  piece  of  land  which 
had  been  regarded  as  accursed.  The  Ami)hiktyons  find- 
ing the  Phokians  guilty,  demanded  a  very  heavy  fine,  and 
ordered  them  to  destroy  the  w^ork  of  their  own  hands. 
As  the  Phokians  refused,  war  was  forthwith  declared 
against  them  to  vindicate  the  honour  of  Apollo.  The 
Phokians  had  meanwhile  taken  possession  of  the  tem])le 
of  Delphi  and  its  treasures,  and  on  the  ad\'ice  of  their 
leader,  PMlomelos,  had  converted  the  gold  and  silver  into 
money,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  war.  For  a  time 
Philomelos  was  successful,  but  in  B.C.  352,  he  fell  in 
battle,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Otiomarchos, 
who  used  the  temple  treasures  most  unscrupulously  in 
biibery  as  well  as  in  meeting  the  necessary  expenditure. 
He  also  gained  the  support  of  Lykophron  of  Pherse,  by 

aiding  him  against  the  Thessalian  towns.  Philip  of 
Macedonia  supported  the  tyrant,  and  after  having  sufiered 
some  reverses,  he  fought  a  fierce  battle,  in  which  the 
Macedonians  proclaimed  themselves  the  champions  of 
Apollo,  and  gained  the  victory  over  their  enemies. 
Athens  and  Sparta  were  allied  with  tht)  Phokians,  and 
an  Athenian  fleet  was  stationed  near  Thermopylae; 
Onomarchos,  in  trying  to  reach  it,  perished.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother  PhaylloSy  who  was  joined  by 
Lykophron  with  a  large  body  of  mercenaries.  Philip's 
object  was   to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  Greece,  but 


HISTORY   OF    GREECE. 


117 


being  prevented  by  the  Athenian  fleet,  he  returned  to 
Macedonia.  Having,  however,  become  the  champion  of 
the  Amphiktyons,  he  had  acquired  a  sort  of  right  to 
interfere  in  the  afiaii's  of  Greece.  The  gi'eat  Athenian 
orator  Demosthenes,  even  at  this  early  time,  saw  through 
the  schemes  of  the  wily  Macedonian,  and  warned  his 
countrymen  against  him.  Phayllos  continued  the  war 
very  vigorously,  though  he  was  beaten  several  times; 
but  in  B.C.  351  he  died  of  an  illness,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Phalcekos,  who  was  likewise  unsuccessful,  but  fearfully 
ravaged  Boeotia.  The  Thebans,  notwithstanding  the 
subsidies  they  received  from  Persia,  were  in  the  end 
defeated  by  the  Phokians  in  a  great  battle  near  Koroneia, 
in  B.C.  346,  after  which  many  Boeotian  to^vns  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

When  thus  hard  pressed,  the  Thebans  sought  the 
assistance  of  Philip.  At  Athens,  Demosthenes  was 
stirring  up  the  people  to  send  help  to  the  town  of 
Olynthos,  which  was  attacked  by  Philip.  The  gi'eat 
orator,  who  clearly  saw  the  danger,  tried  to  unite  all 
Greece  against  the  common  enemy.  But  it  was  of  no 
avail;  Olynthos  and  other  places  were  taken  and  de- 
stroyed; and  while  the  king  was  continuing  his  conquests, 
he  yet  commenced  negotiations  for  peace  with  Athens.  The 
people  there  allowed  themselves  to  be  lulled  into  security, 
and  even  Demosthenes  for  a  time  thought  that  the 
Macedonians  might  be  tinisted.     It  was  just  at  this  time, 

B.C.  346,  that  the  Thebans  applied  to  Philip  for  assistance 
against  the  Phokians.  As  by  this  time  the  Athenians  had 
become  desirous  of  peace,  ambassadors  were  sent  to  the 
king  to  ari'ange  the  terms.  Philip,  in  order  to  j^lease  the 
Thebans,  excluded  the  Phokians  from  the  negotiations, 
and  Athens  accepted  the  terms.  But  when  the  document 
was  sent  to  Philip  for  his  signature,  the  envoys  were 
detained  while  the  king  continued  his  conquests.  When 
at  last  he  had  signed  the  peace,  and  the  envoys  had 
returned  to  Athens,  he  marched  through  the  pass  of 
Thermopylae  against  the  Phokians.  Their  leader  Pha- 
hekos  in  despair  made  his  peace  with  Philip,  and  with- 


'11 


118 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


119 


drew  from  the  contest.  The  Phokians,  now  without  a 
leader,  suiTendered  to  Philip  on  the  understanding  that 
he  would  plead  their  cause  with  the  Amphiktyons.  But 
they  were  bitterly  deceived,  for  they  were  for  ever 
excluded  from  the  Amphiktyonic  league,  and  had  to 
deliver  up  their  arms ;  their  towns  were  destroyed,  and 
they  were  ordered  annually  to  pay  a  very  heavy  sum  to 
the  temple  at  Delphi  This  verdict  was  carried  into 
effect  without  mercy,  by  the  Thebans  and  the  Macedonian 
soldiers.  Many  of  the  Boeotian  towns  also  were  forced 
to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Thebes,  and  large 
numbers  of  their  inhabitants  were  sold  into  slavery. 

PhHip  now  stepped  into  the  place  of  the  Phokians  in 
the  Amphiktyonic  Council,  and  obtained  some  important 
privileges.  The  terrible  fate  of  the  Phokians  alarmed 
the  Greeks,  and  especially  the  Athenians,  but  their  fears 
were  allayed  by  the  orator  -^schines,  who  was  bribed  by 
Philip ;  and  as  Athens  was  not  in  a  condition  to  enter 
upon  a  fresh  war,  Demosthenes  himself  advised  the 
people  to  remain  quiet  and  not  to  oppose  the  decree 
against  the  Phokians. 

While  the  Sacred  War  had  been  raging  in  central  and 
northern  Greece,  Sparta  had  been  endeavouring  to  recover 
her  supremacy  in  Peloponnesus.     At  the  same  time  a 
Macedonian  party  had  been  formed  in  several  towns  of 
the  peninsula,  for  Philip  everywhere  fostered  dissensions, 
m  the  hope  of  finding  an  opportunity  to  interfere,  for  he 
amied  at  nothing  short  of  the  supremacy  of  all  Greece. 
Ihe  Athenians,  perceiving  this,  tried  to  bring  about  a 
peace  among  the  Peloponnesians.     Demosthenes,  more 
than  any  one  else,  saw  through  Philip's  schemes,  and  tried 
to  convmce  his  countrymen  of  the  danger  that  was  im- 
pending over  them.     But  though  Philip,  in  spite  of  all 
treaties,   pursued   his   conquests   in  all   directions,    the 
crafty  deceiver  made  them  believe  that  he  was  really 
concerned  only  about  the  preservation  of  peace. 

The  Athenians  did,  indeed,  some  things  to  counteract 
the  king's  influence;  and  when,  at  last,  in  b.c.  340,  he 
laid  seige  to  the  towns  of  Perinthos  and  Byzantium,  they 


made  up  their  minds  at  once ;  and  even  the  King  of  Pei*sia 
had  become  so  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  the  Macedonian, 
that  he  sent  out  a  force  to  assist  the  Greeks.  However, 
it  was  impossible  to  bring  about  a  coalition  of  the  Greek 

states.  Phokion,  who  now  commanded  the  Athenian 
army,  was  successful  in  repelling  the  king,  and  thereby 
raised  the  spiiits  of  the  Athenians  to  such  a  degree  that, 
in  B.C.  339,  they  renounced  the  peace  with  him.  Soon 
after  this,  the  Ajnphiktyons  appointed  Philip  commander- 
in-chief  of  their  army,  commissioning  him  to  make  war 
against  the  town  of  Amphissaj  which  was  charged  with 
having  brought  under  cultivation  a  district  sacred  to 
ApoUo.  Philip,  of  course,  gladly  seized  the  opportunity, 
which  had  been  partly  brought  about  by  his  own  intrigues, 
and  proceeded  at  once  against  Amphissa,  at  the  same  time 
stirring  up  the  ancient  enmity  between  Thebes  and 
Athens.  Amphissa  was  easily  reduced,  but  he  neverthe- 
less remained  with  his  large  army  in  Lokris,  and  the 
next  year  he  suddenly  seized  upon  the  towns  of  Elateia 
and  Kytinion. 

This  act  of  violence  at  once  opened  the  eyes  of  all 
the  Greeks ;  and  the  Athenians,  on  the  advice  of  Demos- 
thenes, concluded  an  alliance  with  Thebes.  Their  enthu- 
siasm to  maintain  the  liberty  of  Greece  was  immense, 
and  reinforcements  were  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the 
country.  At  first  the  Greeks  were  successful;  but  in 
B.C.  338  a  decisive  battle  was  fought  in  the  plain  of 
CJuBToneia.  The  issue  was  long  undecided,  but  in  the 
end  the  Greeks  were  completely  defeated.  One  thousand 
Athenians  fell,  and  ilOO  were  taken  prisoners.  This  battle 
decided  the  fate  of  Greece,  and  Philip  was  master  of  the 
situation ;  but  he  showed,  on  the  whole,  a  wise  modera- 
tion. The  Athenians,  after  recovering  from  their  first 
ten-or  and  consternation,  refused  to  listen  to  any  pro- 
posals of  peace.  Demosthenes  and  other  patriots  did 
their  best  to  fan  this  spirit  of  resistance,  but  their 
enthusiasm  lacked  the  means  of  giving  it  effect,  and 
in  the  end  an  embassy  was  sent  to  Philip  to  ratify  the 
terms  of  the  peace  he  offered.     The  Athenians  had  to 


120 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


give  up  Samos,  and  to  promise  to  send  deputies  to  a 
f ^7  rrf"!^^^'  .^tich  was  to  meet  at  Korinth  in  B.c. 
«/.  liie  Macedonian  king  was  now  the  real  master  of 
Greece;  but  Athens,  under  the  able  management  of  men 
like  Demosthenes  Phokion,  and  Lykurgos,  stUl  main- 
tained an  honourable  position  and  a  high  detree  of  nros- 
penty.  The  Thebans  had  to  pay  dearly^for  hav  "t 
abandoned  the  alliance  with  Philip :  their  citadel  wal 
occupied  by  a  Macedonian  garrison,  and  they  lost  the 
Bupremacy  over  the  Boeotian  towns.  The  greater  part  of 
the  l-eloponnesians  likewise  acknowledged  Philip  as  their 

ZZTr      "  *^^^.P""S  ^f  =•<'•  337.  deputies  from  all 
parts  of  Greece  met  m  congress  at  Korinth;  Sparta  alone 

tw+r  fiPTT*"^  c^V^^  ^^""^l^-  ^^^^  declared 
that  the  final  object  of  all  his  undertakings  was  to  chas- 

tise  Persia  for  the  wrongs  she  had  inflicted  upon  the 

Greeks.       This   declaration   was   received  with   general 

approbation   and  the  king  was  at  once  appointed  com- 

v2rr^     If  °^^"  *''"  ^"^'^  ^°"^-     W-^tions 
were  forthwith  made  on  a  large  scale,  and  every  Greek 
state  had  to  furnish  its  contingent.     Some  troops  were  at 
once  sent  into  Asia,  under  the  command  of  Attalos  and 
Parmenion ;  Phihp  himself  was  detained  in  Europe  by 
fomily  affairs.      In  the  following  year,  b.c.  336,  great 
festivities  were  going  on  in  his  capital  of  Pella,  to  cele- 
brate  the   marriage   of  his   daughter,    Kleopatra,   with 
Alexander  of  Epirus,  when  Philip  was  suddenly  mur- 
dered at  the  entrance  of  the  theatre  by  a  pei-son  who  had 
l.een  wronged  by  h.m.     The  people  and  the  amy  at 
once   demanded   his   son   Alexander  for   his   successor. 
That  young  pnnce   only  twenty  years  old,  had  already 
d^tingin.,hed  himself  on  seveml  occasions  by  his  valoui- 
The  kingdom,  at  this  moment,  was  in  a  perilous  position 
for  the  death  of  Philip  made  a  deep  impressionTand 
both  the  barbarians  in  the  north,  and  the  Greeks  in  the 
south  were  m  commotion,  imagining  that  the  day  had 
now  come  for  recovering  their  independence.     But  all 
clitticulties  were  soon  overcome  by  the  genius  of  youno 
Alexander.  J"""© 


TEMOSTHEKEa. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

GREECE  DURING  THE  REIGN  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 

Alexander  the  Great  had  been  most  carefully  educated  by 
Aristotle,  the  greatest  of  all  Greek  philosophers,  and  his 
mind  was  so  thoroughly  imbued  with  a  love  of  Greek 
art  and  literature,  that  he  may  be  regarded  as  a  real  and 
true  Greek.  When  his  father's  death  became  known  at 
Athens,  the  old  enthusiasm  for  freedom  rose  to  such  a 
pitch,  that  the  people  voted  a  golden  crown  for  the 
murderer  of  Philip,  no  one  believing  that  the  "  Boy  of 
Pella,"  as  they  contemptuously  called  Alexander,  would 
be  able  to  keep  the  conquests  of  his  father  together ;  but 

they  did  not  know  the  spirit  and  energy  of  the  young 
king.  After  he  had  gained  possession  of  the  throne,  he 
marched  into  Thessaly  to  assert  his  supremacy  over 
Greece,  sword  in  hand.  Little  resistance  was  there 
offered  to  him,  and  with  unexpected  rapidity  he  advanced 
southward.  The  Amphiktyonic  Council  at  once  did 
homage  to  him,  and  as  the  leading  states,  Thebes,  Athens, 
and  Sparta,  did  not  send  deputies  to  greet  him,  he 
straightway  marched  into  Bceotia  and  encamped  at  the 
very  gates  of  Thebes.  ITie  Athenians,  now  discovering 
that  they  had  judged  him  wrongly,  sued  for  pardon, 
which  was  glinted  on  condition  of  their  sending  deputies 
to  the  congress  sitting  at  Korinth.  Alexander  himself 
appeared  there,  and  was  appointed  commander-in-chief  of 
ali   the   Greeks  against   Persia.     The  congress  was  en- 


122 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF   GREECE. 


trusted  with  the  management  of  all  the  affaii-s  of  Greece, 
and  was  to  remain  permanent  until  the  king's  return. 
Sparta  alone  stubbornly  refused  to  send  deputies. 

When  the  submission  of  Greece  was  thus  secured,  he 
returned  to  Macedonia,  in  B.C.  335,  and  immediately  pro- 
ceeded against  the  northern  and  western  barbarians  who 
were  threatening  his  kingdom.     In  these  campaigns  he 
had  to  encounter  the  most  terrible  difficulties,  but  his 
energy  and   personal   bravery  overcame   them  all.      In 
Illyricum,  however,  he  was  detained  for  a  considerable 
tmae,  in  consequence  of  which  a  report  was  spread  that 
he  had  been  killed.    This  rumour  stirred  up  all  the  Greeks 
that  were  hostile  to  Macedonia,  and  the  King  of  Persia 
caused  large  sums  of  money  to  be  distributed  among  them. 
Thebes,  together  with  several  other  states,  at  once  rose  in 
arms ;  and  the  Athenian  patriots,  Demosthenes  at  their 
head,  induced  the  people  to  declare  war  against  Macedonia. 
At  Thebes  the  Macedonian  garrison  was  besieged  in  the 
akropolis,  but  all  of  a  sudden  Alexander  appeared  with 
a  large  army  in  Bceotia,  and  Thebes  after  a  short  but 
brave  defence  was  taken,     Alexander,  wishing  to  make 
an  example,  inflicted  the  severest  punishment  upon  it ; 
the  city,  with  the  exception  of  the  temples  and  the  house 
of  the  poet  Pindar,  was  ra^ed  to  the  ground.      Six  thou- 
sand men  had  fallen  during  the  siege,  and  the  survivin<y 
20,000  were  sold  as  slaves.  ** 

The  fate  of  Thebes  made  a  deep  impression  upon  all 
Greece,  and  the  Athenianswerethefirst  to  send  ambassadors 
to  implore  the  king's  mercy.  The  petition  wa«  granted 
on  condition  that  Demosthenes  and  Lykurgos  should  be 
dehvered  up  to  him.  But  this  demand  was  not  insisted 
upon,  Alexander  being  most  desirous  of  securing  the  good- 
will of  the  Athenians,  for  whom  he  entertained  the  great- 
est respect.  In  the  autumn  he  returned  to  Macedonia 
and  made  preparations  for  the  expedition  against  Persia. 
In  the  spring  of  B.C.  334,  he  proceeded  with  a  considerable 
army  to  Sestos,  where  his  fleet  was  ready  to  carry  them 
into  Asia.  Antipater  was  left  behind  as  regent  of  the 
kingdom.    Alexaiider's  army,  though  small  in  comparison 


123 


with  the  myriads  at  the  disposal  of  the  Persian  king, 
consisted  of  Macedonians,  barbarian  subjects,  and  only 
about  7000  Greeks,  for  large  numbers  of  the  latter,  dis- 
daining to  serve  under  their  conqueror,  had  gone  to  Asia 
and  entered  the  army  of  King  Darius.  Among  these 
were  some  men  of  great  ability,  such  as  Memnon^  a  Rho- 
dian,  who  undertook  the  command  of  the  Persian  fleet,  and 
kept  up  the  connection  between  Persia  and  the  European 
Greeks. 

.^JWhen  Alexander  entered  Asia,  he  was  accompanied  by 
poets,  historians,  and  philosophers,  who  were  to  immoiial- 
ise  his  exploits,  and  gather  information  about  the  nations 
and  countries  never  before  visited  by  Europeans.  His 
generals  were  the  most  eminent  of  the  time,  and  two  of 
them,  Ptolemy  and  Aristohulos,  afterwards  wrote  accoimts 
of  their  master's  expedition,  but  their  works  have  per- 
ished. At  Troy  the  young  king,  an  enthusiastic  admiier 
of  Achilles,  offered  sacrifices  to  the  Greek  heroes,  which 
was  of  course  flattering  to  the  Greek  portion  of  his  army. 
His  first  encounter  with  the  Persian  forces  took  place  on 
the  banks  of  the  little  river  Granikos,  where  he  completely 
defeated  them,  though  they  were  far  superior  in  numbers. 
The  result  of  this  victory  was  that  nearly  all  Asia  Minor 
submitted  to  him,  especially  the  Greek  cities,  which  wel- 
comed him  as  a  Greek  delivering  them  from  the  barbarians. 
The  city  of  Halikamassos  alone  offered  a  brave  but 
ineffectual  resistance.  Memnon,  who  had  done  much  by 
means  of  Persian  gold  to  stir  up  the  European  Greeks, 
suddenly  died,  which  must  have  been  a  great  relief  to  the 

king,  who  now  marched  through  Kilikia,  where  he  con- 
ti-acted  a  severe  illness  by  bathing  in  the  icy  waters  of  the 
river  Kydnos,  but  he  was  saved  by  the  skill  of  his  phy- 
sician. 

The  Persian  monarch  now  advanced  with  a  large  army  to 
oppose  the  invaders  at  the  mountain  passes  leading  from 
Kilikia  into  Syria,  and  a  great  battle  was  fought  at  IssoSy 
in  B.C.  333,  in  which  the  barbarians  were  completely 
routed.  The  booty  made  by  Alexander  was  immense ; 
and  among  the  prisoners  were  the  king's  mother,  his  wife, 


N 


124 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


125 


and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  were  treated  with  cour- 
tesy  and  generosity.     He  then  advanced  into  Phoenicia 
and  Palestine,  where  no  resistance  was  offered;  but  the 
city  of  Tyre  refused  to  surrender,  and  had  to  be  compelled 
by  a  memorable  siege  which  lasted  seven  months.    All  its 
inhabitants  who  could  not  escape  were  massacred  or  sold 
into  slavery,  and  the  city  was  destroyed,  b.c.  332.     The 
town  of  Gaza  experienced  the  same  fate. 
\Alexander  then  marched  into  Egypt,  where  the  Mace- 
doni|ms  were  welcomed  as  deliverers  from  the  detested 
dominion   of  the    Persians.      He  not  only  treated  the 
i^^gyptians  with  great  consideration,  but  visited  the  temple 
of  their  god  Ammon  in  the  western  desert,  where  the 
priests  declared  him  to  be  a  son  of  the  god.     This  at 
once  increased  his  authority,  and  made  him  appear  to  the 
superstitious  Egyptians  as  one  of  themselves.     While  he 
was  engaged  in  Egypt,   where  he   founded  the  city  of 
Akxandna  near  the  mouth  of  the  Nile,  Darius  assembled 
a  fresh  army  to  meet  the  invaders ;  but  before  enterin<r 
upon  any  decisive  step,  he  tried  to  purchase  peace  by 
certain   concessions.      Alexander's  mind,   however,  was 
bent  upon  anything  but  peace.     He  marched  into  Asia 
crossed  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  and  met  the  Persian 
army,  m  B.C.  331,  near  Gaugamela,  where  he  a^ain  de- 
feated his  enemies,  though  their  army  is  said  "to  have 
been  twenty  times  more  numerous  than  his  own       The 
Persian  capitals,  Babylon,  Susa,  Pei-sepolis,  and  Egbatana, 
with  their  vast  treasures,  fell  into  his  hands,  and  Per- 
sepolis  was  wantonly  destroyed  by  fire.    The  unfoii^unate 
JJarius,  after  this  defeat,  fled  eastward,  but  was  murdered 
by  Bessus,  one  of  his  own  satraps. 

During  the  following  years,  Alexander,  by  the  boldest 
marches  through  mountainous  regions,  conquered  the 
countries  to  the  south  and  east  of  the  Caspian,  which 
were  inhabited  by  hardy  and  warlike  tribes.  Several 
colonies,  called  after  him  Alexandria,  were  founded  in 
those  distant  countries,  and  became  centres  of  Greek 
commerce  and  civilisation.  At  Bactra  lie  married  in 
i:.C.  328,  Roxana,  the  daughter  of  a  Bactrian  chief.   '  As 


he  still  continued  to  advance  eastward,  his  Macedonians 
began  openly  to  show  their  discontent,  but  he  neverthe- 
less pushed  onward,  deteimined  to  reach  the  wondrous 
land  of  India,  and  in  B.C.  327  he  crossed  the  river  Indus. 
The  Indians  offered  a  more  vigorous  resistance  than  he 
had  encountered  in  Persia,  and  more  than  once  his  own 
life  was  in  imminent  danger.  But  what  contributed  to 
his  success  was  the  jealousy  among  the  Indian  chiefs, 
some  of  whom  allied  themselves  with  him  against  their 
neighbours.  The  most  powerful  among  them  was  Forus, 
against  whom  he  had  to  fight  a  fearful  battle,  in  which 
20,000  Indians  were  slain,  and  Porus  himself  was 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner.  After  having  founded 
several  colonies,  Alexander  advanced  towards  the  river 
Hyphasis,  and  intended  even  to  reach  the  Ganges.  But 
the  Macedonians  now  showed  such  strong  opposition  to 
any  further  progress  eastward,  that  the  king  was  obliged 
to  give  in,  and  made  up  his  mind  to  return.  Leaving 
the  Indian  chiefs  in  the  possession  of  their  dominions,  on 
condition  of  their  recognising  his  supremacy,  he  sailed 
down  the  river  Hydaspes  to  explore  the  mouths  of  the 
Indus  and  the  Indian  Ocean. 

Alexander  and  his  army  returned  by  land  through  tlie 
•fearful  desert  of  Gedrosia,  while  the  fleet,  under  the 
admiral  Nearchos,  sailed  along  the  coast  into  the  Persian 
Gulf.  The  sufferings  of  the  army  on  its  march  through 
the  desert  consisting  of  fine  dust  and  sand,  under  a  scorch- 
ing sun  and  without  water,  were  indescribable.  Although 
the  march  lasted  only  two  months,  yet  three-fourths  of 
the  men  died  a  miserable  death.  When,  the  year  after 
this,  B.C.  325,  he  reached  Persia,  he  rewarded  the  gallant 
survivors  most  liberally,  and  those  who  were  incapable  of 
fui-ther  service  were  sent  back  to  Europe  with  rich  pre- 
sents. Alexander  did  not  treat  the  Persians  as  a  con- 
quered people,  but  respected  their  religion  as  well  as  their 
national  customs ;  and  in  order  to  conciliate  them  still 
more,  or  we  should  perhaps  rather  say,  to  gratify  his  own 
vanity  and  ambition,  he  adopted  the  pomp  and  ceremony 
of  an  eastern  des]^ot,  demanding  of  his  European  soldiers 


! 


126 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


1  I 


the  same  prostration  and  adoi-ation  as  was  usually  paid  to 
eastern  sovereigns. 

He  further  tried  to  strengthen  the  union  between  the 
West  and  the  East  bj  marriages  of  Macedonians  with 
Persian  women.    He  himself  took  Barsine,  one  of  Darius's 
daughters,  for  his  second  wife;  and  upwards  of  10,000 
Macedonians  received  Persian  wives  with  rich  dowries 
from  their  king.    These  maniages,  celebrated  with  extra- 
ordinary festivities,  offended  many  Macedonians,  unable 
to  bear  the  idea  of  Asiatic  barbarians  being  raised  to  an 
equality  with  themselves,  and  accordingly,  in  b.c.  324,  a 
mutiny  broke  out   among  the  troops.       It  was  indeed 
easily  suppressed,  but  Philotas,  one  of  his  best  generals, 
who  had  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  malcontents,  was 
put  to  death.     Other  men  also,  among  them  the  philo- 
sopher KallistJienes,  who  openly  blamed  the  king  for  his 
conduct,  were  treated  with  revolting  cruelty ;  and  it  is 
evident  that  the  king's  head   had   been   turned  by  the 
worship  paid  him  by  the  Orientals  and  by  worthless  flat- 
terers among  his  own  people. 

Alexander  chose  Babylon  as  the  capital  of  his  empii-e, 
and  there  surrounded  himself  with  a  most  brilliant  court, 
receiving  the  homage  and  congratulations  from  the  re^ 
motest  parts  of  the  earth.  Banquets  and  drunken  revels 
followed  one  another  in  rapid  succession,  and  various  acts 
of  cruelty  were  committed  which  the  king  afterwai-ds 
bitterly  regretted.  Thus  his  brave  general,  Kkitos,  who 
had  excited  the  king's  anger,  was  slain  at  a  banquet, 
though  that  very  man  had  once  saved  the  king's  life. 

While  at  Babylon,  Alexander  was  forming  vast  plans 
for  conquering  the  West,  Africa  and  the  whole  of  south- 
ern Europe.  But  the  perpetual  excitement  had  weakened 
his  physical  strength,  and  in  the  midst  of  his  prepai-ations 
for  further  conquests  he  was  attacked  by  a  fever,  which 
after  eleven  days  terminated  his  life,  about  the  middle  of 
the  year  b.c.  323.  His  body  was  embalmed  and  carried 
to  Alexandna  in  Egypt.  A  successor  had  never  been 
appointed,  but  on  his  death-bed  the  king  had  ffiven  his 
seaJ-ring  to  Perdikkas.  ^ 


HISTORT  OF   GREECE. 


127 


The  conquests  of  Alexander  made  a  lasting  impression 
upon  Asia,  and  the  Greek  colonies  he  had  planted  in  the 
distant  east  long  survived  him,  and  Greek  kingdoms 
formed  on  the  borders  of  India  maintained  themselves  for 
centuries.  Western  Asia,  and  Egypt  in  particular,  be- 
came centres  of  Greek  culture  and  civilisation.  Eastern 
Asia  and  its  populations  had  become  known  to  Europeans, 
and  vast  fields  were  opened  to  commerce,  and  especially 
to  the  sciences  of  geography  and  ethnology.  Greek  civili- 
sation was  in  fact  spread  from  the  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
mnean  to  the  banks  of  the  Indus.  But  the  colossal  fabric 
i-aised  by  Alexander  fell  to  pieces  as  soon  as  his  mighty 
hand  was  withdrawn. 

Let  us  now  cast  a  glance  at  what  happened  in  Greece 
diiring  Alexander's  expedition.  In  B.C.  333,  the  Spartan 
king  Agis  formed  a  Peloponnesian  confederacy  for  the 
purpose  of  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  Macedonia,  and  he 
was  supported  by  Memnon  and  some  Persian  satraps. 
The  Athenians  also  felt  inclined  to  join  the  movement, 
but  the  want  of  means  obliged  them  to  remain  quiet. 
Alexander  moreover  tried  to  keep  them  in  good  humour 
by  sending  messages  and  valuable  presents  to  them.  But 
Sparta  was  determined  to  force  all  Peloponnesus  into  the 
confedei'acy.  On  hearing  of  this,  the  regent  Antipater 
invaded  the  peninsula  with  a  large  army,  and  the  Spar- 
tans, notwithstanding  their  great  valour,  were  defeated  in 
a  decisive  battle  near  Megalopolis.  Sparta,  thus  humbled, 
sued  for  peace,  but  its  request  was  referred  to  the  congress 
at  Korinth,  where  peace  was  granted  to  her  on  condition 
of  her  joining  the  rest  of  Greece  in  recognising  the  supre- 
macy of  Macedonia  and  paying  120  talents. 

Henceforth  Greece  remained  quiet  till  B.C.  324,  when 
Alexander  himself  sent  a  proclamation  ordering  all  exiles 
to  be  restored  to  their  homes.  By  this  means  he  hoped 
to  strengthen  the  Macedonian  party;  but  the  measiu'e 
called  forth  endless  disputes  about  the  property  of  the 
returning  exiles.  In  addition  to  this,  HarpaloSy  the  king's 
treasurer,  had  secretly  left  Asia  with  large  sums  of  money 
which  were  s^^ent  in  attempts  to  incite  Greece  against 


i 


I* 


128 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


Macedonia.  At  Athens  many  were  ready  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  opportunity;  but  when  Antipater  demanded 
the  surrender  of  HarpaJos,  he  fled  into  Krete,  where  he 
was  murdered  by  a  man,  who,  seizing  the  money,  escaped 
into  Kyrene.  The  Athenians,  frightened  by  the  threVts 
ol  Antipater,  instituted  proceedings  against  those  who  had 
received  money  from  Harpalos.  Demosthenes,  one  of 
them  being  unable  to  pay  the  fine  imposed  upon  him, 
iled  to  Troezen,  but  soon  afterwards  he  was  recalled  from 
his  exile. 

A^^^\^^  last  the  news  of  Alexander's  death  reached 
Athens,  the  people,  disregarding  the  advice  of  moderate 
.  and  expenenced  men,  who  urged  the  necessity  of  keepin- 
quiet,  rushed  into  open  war,  and  caUed  upon  all  the  Greeks 
to  assert  their  independence.    A  large  army  wa^  raised,  to 
which  the^tolians  furnished  a  numerous  contingent 
and  Leosthenes  was  appointed  commander  of  the  allied 
forces.     He  marched  through  Boeotia  and  took  possession 
of  the   pass   of  Thermopylae.      At  the  same  time  the 
lllyrians  and  Thracians  had  risen  against  Macedonia,,  so 
tliat  Antipater  was  placed  between  two  fires.     He  first 
marched   quickly  into   Thessaly,   but  as  his  Thessalian 
cavalry  went  over  to  Leosthenes,  he  threw  himself  into 
tne  town  oi  Lamia,  and  made  proposals  of  peace.     The 
Athenians,  flushed  with  victory,  demanded  the  uncon- 
ditional sun-ender  of  the  regent.    The  demand  was  refused, 
and  afiairs  soon  took  a  difierent  turn,  for  Leosthenes  died 
ot  a  wound,  and  the  ^tolians  returned   home.     About 
the  same  time  the  Macedonian  general  Leonnatos  arrived 
with  a  large  force  from  Asia  in  Thessaly.     Antiphilos, 
the  successor  of  Leosthenes,  was  obliged  to  raise  the  sie-e 
of  Lamia  and  to  fight  a  pitehed  battle  against  Leonnatos. 
Antipater,  being  now  free,  and  joined  by  another  army 
tiom  Asia  under  the  command  of  Krateros,  fought  a  fierce 
battle  near  Kraimon,  B.C.  322,  in  which  the  Athenian 
army  was  twice  defeated.     All  Thessaly  surrendered  at 
once,  and  the  allies  dispersed,   each  st^xte  concluding  a 
separate  peace  for  itself.     The  Athenians  and  ^^tolilis 
alone  remained  in  arms. 


HISTORY  OP  GREECE. 


129 


Antipator  now  advanced  southward,  demanding  of  the 
Athenians  to  surrender  the  leading  enemies  of  Macedonia. 
Demosthenes,  Hyperides,  and  others,  took  to  flight.     The 
entreaties  of  the  Athenians  were  of  no  avail ;  they  had 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  to  receive  a  Mace- 
donian garrison  in  the  port  of  Munychia.      At  the  same 
time  the  government  of  Athens  was  handed  over  to  the 
wealthy,  who  had  always  been  favom-able  to  Macedonia, 
and  only  9000  citizens  retained  the  franchise.    The  fugitive 
patriots  were  sentenced  to  death.    Demosthenes,  who  had 
Uken  refuge  in  the  temple  of  Poseidon  at  Kalanreia, 
tndmg  that  he  was  dogged  by  the  agents  of  Antipater, 
put  an  end  to  his  life  by  poison  which  he  had  been  carry- 
ing about  with  him  for  some  time. 

Thus  ended  the  war  against  Macedonia,  commonly 
called  the  Lamian  War,  in  which  Athens  lost  her  freedom 
and  her  democratic  constitution.  The  Macedonians  now 
prepared  to  turn  their  arms  against  ^tolia,  but  the  events 
which  were  occurring  in  Asia  prevented  this  undertaking. 


ALEXANDEE  THE  CHEAT. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


131 


WAR   CHABIOT. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

GREECE  UNDER  THE  SUCCESSORS  OF  ALEXANDER  UNTIL  THE 
TIME  OF  THE  ACH^AN  LEAGUE. 

Henceforth  tlie  history  of  Greece  is  inseparably  inter- 
woven with  that  of  Macedonia,  of  which,  in  fact,  it  was 
at  times  only  a  sort  of  province.  When  Alexander  died, 
there  was  no  one  to  succeed  him,  for  he  left  behind  him 

only  a  weak-minded  brother  and  two  infant  sons.  For  a 
short  time  Perdikkas  exercised  the  highest  authority  as 
regent  of  the  whole  empire.  But  he  was  murdered  in 
B.C.  321,  and  the  generals  of  Alexander  claimed  the 
Bovereignty  of  those  portions  of  the  empire  of  which 
they  had  been  appointed  governors,  and  Antigonos  even 
claimed  the  sovereignty  of  the  whole,  while  Antipater 
and  his  son  Kaasander  kept  Macedonia  and  Greece  in 
their  hands.  The  wives  and  children  of  Alexander  and 
his  brother  were  kept  in  a  sort  of  splendid  captivity  at 
Pella,  and  in  the  coui-se  of  a  fewr  years  all  of  them  were 
murdered.  The  history  of  Alexander's  family  is  perhaps 
the  most  tragic  in  all  ancient  history.  After  a  great 
deal  of  fighting  among  the  generals,  there  arose  a  great 
and  jirotracted  war  against  Antigonos,  until  at  length,  in 
D.c.  311,  the  vast  empire  was  divided  among  the  competi- 
tors. But  the  peace  did  not  last  long;  a  fresh  war  broke 
out,  and  five  of  the  generals  assumed  the  title  of  king. 
Mattel's,  however,  still  remained  unsettled  in  consequence  of 
the  pretensions  of  Antigonos.    But  he  was  killed  in  a  great 


battle  fought  at  Ipsos,  in  B.C.  301,  whereupon  a  peace 
was  concluded  in  which  Macedonia,  Thrace,  Syria,  and 
Egypt  were  recognised  as  independent  kingdoms,    ^r' 

During  these  struggles  among  the  generals  of  Alex- 
ander, Greece  had  of  course  to  bear  its  share  in  them. 
At  Athens  there  was  a  strong  Macedonian  party  in  favour 
of  KassandeVy  the  son  of  Antipater.  It  was  headed  by 
Phokioriy  and  wished  to  retain  the  Macedonian  garrison  at 
Munychia.  The  democratic  party,  on  the  other  hand,  fav- 
oured PolyspercJi07i,  whom  Antipater  had  appointed  his 
successor,  because  he  promised  to  restore  to  the  Athenians 
theii*  democratic  government,  and  to  allow  the  exiles  to 
return.  The  democratic  party  gained  the  upper  hand,  and 
Phokion,  being  charged  with  treason,  was  put  to  death,  in 
B.C.  317.  A  war  then  arose  between  Kassander  and 
Polysjierchon,  during  which  nearly  the  whole  of  Pelopon 
nesus  was  conquered  by  the  latter.  The  Athenians,  how- 
ever, concluded    peace    with   Kassander,  in  which  their 

political  independence  was  recognised  and  the  franchise 

extended.  But  at  the  same  time  Kassander  appointed 
the  popular  orator  Demetrios  of  PJwbleron  governor  of 
Athens,  whose  administration  lasted  from  B.C.  318  to  B.C. 
307.  At  first  he  was  extremely  popular,  and  Athens 
recovered  much  of  her  former  prosperity ;  he  is  even  said 
to  have  been  honoured  by  the  citizens  with  360  statues, 
but  his  subsequent  extravagances  made  him  an  object  of 
general  detestation.  During  that  period  Greece  was 
always  the  bone  of  contention  among  the  Macedonian 
candidates  for  power,  and  almost  all  of  them  were  anxious 
to  secure  the  goodwill  of  the  Greeks  by  promises  to  restore 
their  independence.  But  such  promises  were  worth  very 
little,  as  no  one  had  sufficient  power  to  realise  them. 
Kassander  was  at  last  forced  by  Ptolemy,  then  governor 
of  Egypt,  to  quit  Greece  and  return  to  Macedonia.  In 
the  peace  of  B.C.  311  the  independence  of  Greece  was 
indeed  guaranteed,  but  a  few  years  later  Kassander  and 

Ptolemy  agreed  that  each  of  them  should  remain  in  posses- 
sion of  those  parts  of  Greece  which  he  had  conquered. 
In  the  last  year  of  Demetrios  of  Phaleron's  administra- 


\^. 


132 


HISTORY   OP  GREECE. 


tion,  when  his  unpopularity  had  reached  the  highest 
point,  another  Demetrios  surnamed  Poliorketes,  the  son  of 
Antigonos,  appeared  with  a  large  fleet  off  Peirseeus,  pro- 
claiming  himself  the  champion  of  liberty.  He  was  most 
enthusiastically  welcomed,  and  the  Phalerean  was  allowed 
to  depart  unmolested.  Demetrios  kept  his  promise  and 
caused  large  quantities  of  grain  to  be  distributed  amon^ 
the  poor,  and  the  people  in  their  gratitude  paid  him  and 
his  lather  almost  divine  honours.  Being,  however,  of  a 
restless  disposition,  Demetrios  soon  after  quitted  Athens, 
and  hiuned  from  one  enterprise  to  another. 

When  Athens  was  thus  left  to  herself,  the  old  feuds 
between  the  democratic  and  Macedonian  parties  immedi- 
ately recommenced.      The  former  was  headed  by  Demo- 
chares,  a  nephew  of  the  gieat  Demosthenes,  a  sincere  and 
honest  patriot,  who  did  all  he  could  to  secure  the  liberty 
of  the  people;  but  it  was  all  to  no  purpose,  the  Macedonian 
influence  was  too  powerful.       While  Polysperchon  was 
conquermg  Peloponnesus,  Kassander  invaded  Attika  and 
laid  siege  to  Athens.     The  city  was  bravely  defended  by 
Demochares,  and  the  sudden  anival  of  a  fleet  under 
Demetrios    Poliorketes    compelled    Kassander    to    quit 
Greece       The   towns   thus   freed  from  the  Macedonian 
yoke  showered  all  possible  honours  upon  their  deliverer 
and  appointed  him  commander  of  all  their  forces.     He 
stayed  at  Athens   only  a  short  time,  but  greatly  disai> 
pointed  the  people  by  his  despotic  and  licentious  doin-s 
and  by  exiling  the  noble  Demochares.    He  wa^  called  away 
into  Asia  by  his  father,  and  when  the  latter  had  fallen 
in  the  battle  of  Ipsos,  Demetrios  returned  to  Greece 
where  he  hoped  to  establish  a  kingdom  for  himself ;  but 
finding   that   his   popularity  was  gone,  he  returned  to 
byna. 

Meanwhile  Leochares,  with  the  support  of  Kassander, 
set  himself  up  as  tyrant  at  Athens,  treating  the  people 
with  unexampled  cruelty.  Demetrios,  heaiing  of  this 
hastened  to  Athens,  and  took  the  city  by  storm,  b  c  295* 
He  pardoned  all  previous  offences,  and  distributed  large 
quantities  of  corn  among  the  famishing  people;  but,  in 


W 


HISTORY    OF   GREECE. 


133 


order  to  secure  himself  for  the  future,  he  placed  strong 
garrisons  in  Munychia  and  Peiraeeus,  and  fortified  the 
hill  of  the  Museum  within  the  city.     He  then  marched 
into  Peloponnesus,  and  appeared  before  the  very  gates  of 
Sparta,  when   he   was   suddenly  called   to    Macedonia, 
where  he  ascended  the  throne  in  B.C.  294.     He  reigned 
for  a  period  of  seven  years,  during  which  all  Greece  paid 
homage  to  him;  but  in  a  war  against   Pyrrhus,  being 
deserted  by  his  troops,  he  fled  into  Syria,  where  he  ended 
his  restless  career  as  a  prisoner.     When  Pyrrhus  became 
king  of  Macedonia,  the  Athenians  again  rose  in  arms  to 
assert  their  freedom,  and  the  Macedonian  ganisons  were 
driven  from  their  strongholds.     Pyrrhus,  instead  of  pun- 
ishing them,  generously  allowed  them  the  enjoyment  of 
their  freedom  ;  and  Demochares,  being  recalled,  managed 
the  affaii-s  of  the  state  in  so  able  a  manner,  that  for  a 
time  the  Athenians  might  fancy  that  the  happy  days  of 
old  were  returning.    Lysimachos,  the  successor  of  Pyrrhus, 
also  concluded  friendship  with  Athens,  and  allowed  her 
the  full  enjoyment  of  her  democratic  constitution. 

About  the  year  B.C.  280,  swarms  of  Kelts  or  Gauls 
invaded  Greece  from  the  north.  In  Macedonia  their 
progress  was  checked,  though  not  imtil  King  Ptolemy 
Keraunos  had  lost  his  life  in  a  battle  against  them.  They 
then  marched  south  towards  Delphi,  attracted,  no  doubt, 
by  reports  of  the  wealth  of  its  temple ;  but  when  they 
approached  Delphi,  in  B.C.  279,  the  god  himself  is  said, 
by  thunder  and  lightning,  to  have  terrified  the  invaders, 
as  he  had  done  two  centuries  before,  when  the  Persians 
ajiproached  the  sacred  city.  Upon  this,  the  Gauls  dis- 
persed, and  a  large  body  of  them  crossed  over  into  Asia 
Minor,  where,  after  roaming  about  for  a  long  time,  they 
settled  in  the  country  called  after  them  Galatia. 

Antigonos  Gonata^,  who  succeeded  Ptolemy  Keraunos 
(from  B.C.  280,  to  B.c.  239),  aJso  claimed  the  sovereignty 
of  Greece,  but  had  to  establish  his  claim  by  force  of  arras, 
and  even  thus  succeeded  only  partially.  In  B.C.  269,  he 
had  to  wage  war  against  the  Athenians,  because  they 
refused  to  admit  a  Macedonian  gan-ison.     The  city  waa 


•I 


134 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


besieged  for  several  years,  and  though  it  was  supported 
by  Sparta  and  the  King  of  Egypt,  it  was  compelled  to 
surrender  in  B.C.  262,  and  to  receive  garrisons  in  Muny- 
chia,  Peirseeus,  and  the  Museum.  But  the  conqueror 
treated  the  Athenians  with  great  indulgence,  for  he  did 
not  interfere  with  their  democratic  constitution,  and  soon 
after  even  withdrew  the  garrison  from  the  Museum. 
Athens  thus  enjoyed  a  long  period  of  peace,  though  she 
had  the  mortification  of  seeing  her  port  towns  occupied 
by  Macedonian  troops.  In  B.C.  229,  Aratos,  then  the 
head  of  the  Achaean  league,  of  which  we  shall  have  to 
speak  hereafter,  prevailed  upon  the  Macedonian  com- 
mander, by  a  bribe,  to  evacuate  the  port  towns.  He  had 
hoped  by  this  means  to  induce  the  Athenians  to  join  the 
league,  but  they  were  too  much  weakened  to  join  in  its 
warlike  undertakings,  and  henceforth  withdrew  from 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  Greece. 

Throughout  the  Macedonian  period,  Sparta  had  shown 
considerable  firmness  in  resisting  the  demands  of  the 
Macedonian  rulers,  but  she  had  done  little  or  nothing  for 
the  freedom  of  the  rest  of  Greece,  and  we  have  seen  that 
in  B.C.  294  she  narrowly  escaped  being  conquered  by 
Demetrios.  The  city  was  then  suiTounded  by  walls, 
which  alone  shows  that  the  ancient  spirit  of  its  citizens 
no  longer  existed.  The  state  was  in  fact  in  a  wretched 
condition,  all  its  wealth  being  accumulated  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  families,  while  the  great  mass  of  the  people  were 
miserably  poor.  The  ephors  had  become  the  highest 
power  in  the  state,  and  the  kings  were  little  more  than 
the  representatives  of  two  ancient  families. 

In  these  circumstances  King  Agis  (from  B.C.  244  to 
B.C.  241)  undertook  the  dangerous  task  of  reforming  the 
constitution  and  bringing  it  into  hai-mony  with  the  spirit 
of  the  times.  Supported  by  the  younger  generation  of 
Spartans,  he  carried  several  laws  to  relieve  the  poor.  A 
fresh  division  of  the  land  was  made,  and  4500  lots  wei*o 
set  apai-t  for  the  Spartans,  and  15,000  for  the  Lakonians, 
and  the  small  number  of  Spartans  was  to  be  increased  by 
the  admission  of  Lakonians  to  the  franchise.     These  and 


HI 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


135 


other  measures  the  king  thought  might  revive  the  spirit 
of  the  ancient  Spartans.  LeonidaSj  the  other  king,  who 
opposed  the  reforms,  was  sent  into  exile,  and  all  seemed  to 
promise  well.  But  during  the  absence  of  Agis  on  an 
expedition  against  the  Achseans,  the  party  opposed  to  re- 
forms recalled  Leonidas,  and  when  Agis  returned  home,  he 
was  seized  and  put  to  death.  His  widow,  Agiatis,  as  en- 
thusiastic a  reformer  as  her  husband  had  been,  afterwards 
married  King  Khomenes  (from  B.c.  236  to  B.C.  220),  who 
tried  by  violence  to  complete  the  work  begun  by  Agis. 
He  had  the  ephors  murdered,  cancelled  all  debts,  and  was 
beginning  the  distribution  of  the  land,  when  a  war  with 
the  Achaean  league  broke  out,  the  result  of  which,  as  we 
shall  see^  was  the  downfall  of  both  Kleomenes  and  of 
Sparta, 


MOKCMENT  OF  LYSICRATES. 


Macedonian  coin. 


CHAPTER  Xni 

FROM  THE  FORMATION  OP  THE  ACH^AK  LEAOCE  DOWN  TO 
THE  CONQUEST  OF  GREECE  BY  THE  ROMANS. 

The  Greeks  never  formed  one  politically  united  state  •  onoA 
un  f;7  *f  '"^  '*'^*  Troyfthey  arf  said  to  have  be^ 

period,  It  had  been  urged  more  than  once  by  patriotic  men 
that  union  alone  could  be  of  avail  aiMin^t  M?-:<S  ^ 
aggression.     The  idea  at  last  took TpSw  s wton^ 

^t'tr^SjtforenhW  very  sub^ZT^ 
m  numbe.  had  frolXin^l^t'eT:  &Srf 

rrerrrcCrCetw ';:;  'thf  ^  '-^''^^^y 

driving  the  M  JiS  :„t  of  ^^^S'^.r,"' 
towns  soon  joined  the  league,  whkhWonlr.J'''' 
over  a  considerable  part  of  the  onnnt^^  ?n  spreading 
its  greatest  power  i'n  b.c  Si  Xl\^^  'l"^"^^"^ 
became  the  chief,  and  caused  his  Xe  :rt:  joiL^ 
confedera^sy     According  to  the  constitution  of  ^i^L^ 

SL  ^  IT^"",  ^T^  ""^  «'^*«'  «»«  executive  of  Xh 
was  in  tne  hands  of  an  officfir  r»fll]«/i  o+w.*  \    "^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


137 


ment.     For  a  considerable  time  this  league  enjoyed  the 
regard  and  esteem,  not  only  of  Greece,  but  even  of  foreign 

powers. 

Unfortunately,  however,  the  league  not  only  failed  in 
uniting  all  Greece,  but  an  opposition  league  was  formed  . 
by  the  JEtolians,  who  were  not  so  much  interested  in  the 
freedom  of  Greece,  as  in  securing  advantages  for  them- 
selves. The  -^tolians  were  indeed  a  brave  and  warlike 
people,  but  had  not  kept  pace  with  the  civilisation  of  the 
rest  of  Greece ;  they  were  from  first  to  last  rude,  quarrel- 
some, faithless,  and  fond  of  plunder.  The  constitution  of 
their  league  resembled  that  of  the  Achaeans,  and  its  power 
rose  very  rapidly.  The  seat  of  its  government  was  at 
Thermon. 

AratoSj  who  was  twelve  times  elected  strategos,  was 
the  very  soul  of  the  Achaean  league,  even  when  he  was 
not  in  office,  and  the  object  he  steadily  kept  in  view  was 
to  unite  all  Peloponnesus  under  the  democratic  constitu- 
tion of  the  league,  and  to  drive  away  the  tyrants  who 
about  that  time  existed  in  many  towns  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Macedonia.  He  was  in  many  ways  very  successful 
by  his  eloquence  and  statesmanship,  but  he  was  somewhat 
deficient  in  resolution  and  personal  courage.  In  B.C.  243, 
he  drove  the  Macedonian  garrison  from  Korinth,  and 
induced  its  inhabitants  and  those  of  Megara  to  join  the 
league.  About  B.C.  226,  when  he  was  strategos  for  the 
eleventh  time,  several  important  towns  of  Peloponnesus 
were  gained  over;  but  Athens,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  he 
delivered  from  its  Macedonian  garrisons,  was  not  able  to 
join  the  league. 

During  this  period  of  its  prosperity,  the  -^tolians 
evinced  a  hostile  spii-it  towards  the  Achaean  league,  and 
even  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Macedonian  Antigonos 
Gonatas  about  a  division  of  Achaia.  About  the  same 
time  King  Kleomenes  of  Sparta  by  his  reforms  not  only 

Strengthened  Sparta  internally,  but  increased  its  power 

by  subduing  Argos  and  Mantineia ;  he  strove,  in  short, 
to  recover  the  ancient  supremacy  over  the  whole  of  Pelo- 
ponnesus.      A   conflict   with    Aratos   and  the  Achaean 


138 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


league  was  thus  unavoidable.    Aratos  declared  war  against 
bparta,  and  m  his  eagerness  forgot  the  objects  of  the  league 
so  far  as  to  mvite  the  aid  of  Macedonia  against  Sparta 
i\ntigono8  Doson,  who  was  then  regent  of  Macedonia, 
readily  promised  his  assistance.     In  the  beginning  of  the 
war  Kleomenes  was  very  successful,  and  defeated  the 
Achseans  in  three  battles.       Many  towns  fell  into  his 
hands,  and  he  began  to  lay  siege  to  Akrokorinthos,  the  cit- 
adel of  Korinth.   At  the  same  time  he  was  willing  to  come 
to  an  understanding  with  Aratos,  who,  however,  was  fool- 
wh  enough  to  deliver  up  that  citadel  to  Antigonos  Doson. 
Kleomenes  made  a  most  gallant  resistance,  but  had  to 
return  to  Sparta  on  account  of  his  wife's  death.     In  B.a 
116,  Antigonos  advanced  into  Arkadia,  and  gained  posses- 
Bion  of  several  towns,  without  Kleomenes  being  able  to 
prevent  it.     The  year  following  he  invaded  Lakonia  with 
a  large  army.     Kleomenes  had  pitched  his  camp  at  SeU 
to^ta  north  of  Sparta,  where  a  great  and  decisive  battle 
was  fought,  in  B.C.  221,  in  which  Philopcemen  decided 
the  victory  of  the  Achaeans.       Kleomenes  escaped  with 
only  a  few  horsemen  to  Sparta,  and  thence  to  Alexandria 
ill  Egjyt,  where  he  hoped  to  find  protection,  but  found 
himself  a  pnsoner,  and  in  b.c.  220  put  an  end  to  his  life 
His  mother  and  children,  who  had  followed  him  in  his 
exile,  were  put  to  death.     Sparta,  which  had  hitherto 
been  governed   by  its  hereditary  kings  ever  since  the 
Dorian  conquest,  now  fell  into  the  hands  of  Antigonos 
without  resistance,  but  he  treated  it  with  moderation  out 
of  regard  for  its  ancient  glory.      With  Kleomenes  the 
line  of  Its  ancient  kings  became  extinct,  and  Antigonos 
could  not  stay  sufficiently  long  to  regulate  the  afiairs  of 
Sparta,  as  the  lllyrians  were  making  inroads  into  Mace- 
donia. 

The  battle  of  Sellasia,  though  won  by  the  Achseans, 
was  no  less  fatal  to  them  than  to  Sparta,  for  the  great 
fortress  of  Korinth  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  Mace- 
donians, who  were  now  governed  by  Philip  Y.  (from  B.c. 
220  to  B.C.  179),  a  man  of  great  military  abilities.  At 
the  very  beginning  of  his  reign,  Greece  was  distracted  by 


HISTORY    OF   GREECE. 


139 


what  is  called  the  Social  WaVy  which  arose  in  the  follow- 
ing manner.  Sparta  had  fallen  so  low  that  a  man  of  the 
name  of  Lykurgos  was  able  to  buy  the  royal  dignity  of 

the  ephors.  He  at  once  got  rid  of  the  surviving  members 
of  the  royal  families,  declared  himself  sole  king,  and  then 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  ^tolians  against  the  Achseans 
and  Macedonia.  The  war  resulting  from  this  lasted  three 
years,  during  which  Greeks  were  once  more  arrayed 
against  Greeks,  while  the  Macedonians  traversed  and 
ravaged  Greece  from  one  end  to  the  other.  The  Mace- 
donian king,  however,  found  it  necessary  to  leave  the 
Achseans  to  fight  their  own  battles,  for  his  attention  was 
attracted  by  the  Romans^  who  had  already  gained  a  foot- 
ing in  some  places  on  the  east  coast  of  the  Adriatic. 
Aratos,  dissatisfied  with  Philip's  conduct,  remonstrated 
with  him,  but  the  only  result  was  that  a  few  years  later 
he  was  poisoned  by  the  king's  orders. 

In  B.C.  216,  when  Hannibal  had  defeated  the  Eomans 
in  four  battles,  Philip  concluded  a  treaty  with  him,  pro- 
mising him  succour,  and  stipulating  that  in  the  event  of 
the  Romans  being  finally  defeated,  the  countries  east  of 
the  Adriatic  should  be  left  to  Macedonia.  The  Romans 
on  hearing  this,  took  every  precaution  to  prevent  a 
Macedonian  descent  upon  Italy ;  and  as  they  could  not 
undertake  a  war  against  Philip  so  long  as  Hannibal  was 
in  Italy,  they  concluded  an  alliance  with  the  -^tolians, 
B.C.  211,  in  which  many  other  Greeks  also  joined,  while 
Philip  strengthened  himself  by  alliances  with  other  Greeks 
and  with  Prusias,  king  of  Bithynia.  Here  again  unfor- 
tunately Greeks  fought  against  Greeks  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Romans  and  Macedonians.  The  -^tolians  were 
urged  on  by  the  Romans  to  continue  their  hostilities 
against  Philip ;  but  as  the  Romans,  in  B.C.  206,  ceased  to 
support  them,  they  were  compelled  to  conclude  a  peace 
with  Philip  on  his  own  terms,  B.c.  205.  The  year  after 
Philip  also  made  peace  with  the  Romans,  who,  however, 
retained  possession  of  a  part  of  Illyricum.  Thus  ended 
the  fii^t  active  interference  of  the  Romans  in  the  afiairs 
of  Greece. 


140 


niSTORY   OF   GREECE. 


Ever  since  the  battle  of  Sellasia,  the  Ach^ans  had  be- 
come more  and  more  weary  of  war,  and  were  beinnninc^ 
to  be  indifferent      But  their  strategos,  Philopcemen,  an 
able  general  and  statesman,  revived  their  spirits      His 
first  operations  were  directed  against  Sparta,  where,  after 
tne  death  of  Lykurgos,  Machanidas  had  set  himself  up 
as  tyrant,  B.C.  211,  and  indulged  in  hostilities  against 
the  Achseans.      Philopoemen,  in  B.C.  207,  defeated  him 
in  a  great  battle  near  Mantineia.      After  Machanidas, 
JS  abis,  a  monster  of  cruelty,  usurped  the  tyrannis,  and 
made   the  city  pass  through  all  the  horrors  for  which 
the    tyrants    of   that   period    are    notorious    in    Greek 
history. 

nie  peace  between  Philip  and  the  Romans,  accordin<T 
to  which  neither  ought  to  have  attacked  the  allies  of  the 
other,  was  broken  by  Philip  in  more  ways  than  one.     It 
happened  tbxt  at  Athens  two  Akarnanian  youths,  who  were 
believed  to  have  profaned  some  religious  mysteries,  were 
murdered  by  the  excited  populace.     The  Akarnanians, 
supported  by  Philip,  made  ravaging  inroads  into  Attika 
Hereupon  the  Athenians,  allied  with  King  Attalos  of 
Pergamos  and  with  the  Ehodians,  declared  war  against 
•iu  ?^  ^'^  straightway  proceeded  to  blockade  Athens 
with  his  fleet.  ^  The  Athenians,  assisted  by  a  Roman  fleet, 
repelled  him,  m  revenge  for  which  he  laid  waste  the 
country  as  far  a^  he  could.     In  B.C.  200,  the  Romans, 
formally  undertaking  the  protection  of  Attika,  sent  out 
the  consul  bulpicius  Galba  with  a  force  against  Macedonia 
and  thus  commenced  the  second  Macedonian  war      The 
belligerents  had  the  same  allies  as  before,  but  dimn<r  the 
fti-st  year  nothing  of  any  importance  was  accomplished. 
lnB.c.  198,  0^«wc^iw^  i^/ammnw*,  however,  succeeded  in 
gaming  the  Achaeans  over  to  his  side,  and  being  thus 
supported  by  them,  as  well  as  by  the  ^telians,  he  ad- 
vanced into  Thessaly.     As  negotiations  led  to  no  satis- 
factory  results  a  gi-eat  battle  was  fought,  in  B.C.  197,  at 
a  place  called  lyjnoskephalce,  in  which  Philip  was  totally 
defeated,  mainly  owing  to  the  valour  displayed  by  the 
^tohaiis.     Peace  was  then  concluded  on  condition  that 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HI 


Philip  should  withdraw  his  garrisons  from  all  the  Greek 
cities;  and  that  the  three  great  fortresses  of  Greece, 
Demetrias,  Akrokorinthos,  and  Chalkis  should  be  occupied 
by  the  Romans.  The  Athenians  received  back  the  islands 
of  Pares,  Imbros,  Delos,  and  Skyros;  but  stmnge  to  say, 
-^gina  waa  given  to  King  Attalos.  The  ^tolians,  to 
whom  the  victory  of  Kynoskephalae  was  mainly  due, 
being  dissatisfied  with  these  arrangements,  openly  declared 
that  all  the  fair  promises  of  Flamininus  regarding  the 
liberation  of  Greece  were  mere  words,  so  long  as  the 
Romans  themselves  kept  garrisons  in  the  most  important 
fortresses — the  three  fetters  of  Greece. 

In  the  year  after  the  great  battle,  B.C.  196,  Flamininus, 
during  the  celebration  of  the  Isthmian  games  and  before 
the  assembled  Greeks,  proclaimed  the  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence of  their  country.  This  proclamation  was  re- 
ceived with  the  most  enthusiastic  joy  and  delight  by  the 
people,  who  did  not  perceive  that  they  had  only  made  a 
change  of  masters.  After  this,  Flamininus  remained  in 
Greece  for  some  time,  as  Hannibal  was  stirring  up  King 
Antiochos  of  Syria  against  Rome,  and  the  tjrrant  Nabis 
refused  to  evacuate  Argos.  But  Flamininus  compelled 
him  not  only  to  leave  Argos,  but  to  accept  a  peace  on 
very  severe  terms,  though  his  tyrannis  of  Sparta  was  left 
untouched.  Of  this  both  the  Achseans  and  ^tolians 
complained.  In  order  to  satisfy  the  Greeks,  the  Romans, 
in  B.C.  194,  evacuated  the  three  foi-tresses.  But  Nabis, 
anxious  to  recover  certain  maritime  towns  ceded  to  the 

Achaeans,  commenced  war  against  them.  The  Achseans 
being  commanded  by  Philopoemen,  blockaded  Sparta,  and 
the  ^tolians,  pretending  to  assist  Nabis,  murdered  him 
and  took  possession  of  the  citadel ;  but  the  Spartans  rose 
against  their  treacherous  allies  and  massacred  nearly  the 
whole  of  them.  Amid  this  confusion,  Philopoemen  made 
himself  master,  not  only  of  the  city,  but  of  the  whole  of 
Lakonia,  and  added  both  to  the  Achaean  league,  which 
now  embraced  the  whole  of  Peloponnesus. 

Ever  since  the  battle  of  Kynoskephalae,  the  ^tolians 
were  bitterly  exasperated  against  the  Romans,  and  they 


142 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY  OF   GREECE. 


143 


•f 


now  invited  Antiochos  of  Syria  to  come  to  Greece,  the 
conquest  of  which  they  represented  to  him  as  a  matter  of 
no  great  difficulty.  In  B.C.  192,  the  king  arrived,  and 
was  at  once  joined  by  many  Greek  towns,  but  he  did  not 
bring  with  him  a  sufficient  force,  nor  did  he  carry  on  the 
work  with  much  energy;  and  in  B.c.  191  he  wjis  de- 
feated at  Thermopylae  by  the  consul  Acilius  Glabrio, 
whereupon  he  returned  to  Asia.  Another  victory  was 
soon  gained  over  the  -^tolians.  A  truce  of  six  months 
was  then  concluded  with  them,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
they  resumed  hostilities ;  but  in  B.C.  189  they  were  forced 
to  accept  a  peace  in  which  they  were  obliged  to  reco^mise 

the  supremacy  of  Rome,  to  enter  into  an  oflfensive°and 

defensive  alliance  with  them,  to  dismiss  all  non-^tolian 
towns  from  their  league,  and  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
war.  Their  confederation  was  thus  broken  up  and  limited 
to  the  towns  in  -^tolia  itself. 

After  Philopcemen  had  made  himself  master  of  Sparta, 
the  city  remained  quiet  for  a  few  years ;  but  in  b.c.  188 
a  dispute  arose  between  him  and  the  Spartans.     Both 
l)arties  applied  to  the  Roman  Senate  to  decide  between 
them;    but  as  its  answer  was  ambiguous,  Philopcemen 
took  justice  into  his  own  hands :  he  restored  those  who 
had  been  exiled  by  Nabis,  put  to  death  the  leaders  of  the 
Ijarty  hostile  to  the  Achaeans,  and  even  went  so  far  as 
to  compel  the  Spartans  to  adopt  a  democratic  form  of 
government.     The  Spartans,  unable  to  resist  these  revo- 
lutionary proceedings,  had  to  submit  to  them  with  deep 
but  suppressed  indignation.     In  B.c.  183  the  Messenians 
revolted  from  the  Achaeans,   and  Philopcemen  had  to 
march  against  them.      On  his  way  he  was  attacked  and 
overpowered  by  some  Messenian  horsemen,  who  triumph- 
antly carried  him  in  a  dying  state  to  Messene.      The 
people  there  condemned  him  to  death,  which  he  bore 
with  a  calmness  and  intrepidity  worthy  of  his  whole 
life.     He  was  succeeded  by  Lykortas,  the  father  of  the 
historian  Polybios,  who  recovered  Messenia  and  put  to 
death   those  who   had   taken   the   lead   in  condemnin<y 
Philo2)ccmen.  ^ 


But  peace  and  order  were  not  restored  by  these  violent 
measures,  and  the  time  was  fast  approaching  when  the 
mighty  hand  of  Rome  was  to  silence  the  petty  disputes 
among  the  Greeks  by  depriving  all  their  states  of  the 
power  of  action.  For  a  time  Philip  of  Macedonia  quietly 
submitted  to  the  peace  imposed  upon  him  by  the  Romans ; 
but  finding  his  position  too  humiliating,  he  at  last  began 
to  make  preparations  for  another  war.  But  quarrels  in 
his  own  family  prevented  his  taking  any  decisive  steps. 
By  the  treachery  of  his  son  Perseus,  he  was  induced  to 
put  his  only  other  son,  Demetrios,  to  death,  and  when  he 
discovered  how  he  had  been  deceived,  he  was  seized  with 

the  deepest  remoi-se,  and  died  in  B.C.  179.  Perseus,  who 
now  succeeded  him,  hated  the  Bomans  even  more  than 
his  father  had  done ;  he  continued  the  warlike  prepara- 
tions, and  strengthened  himself  by  numerous  alliances. 
Amid  these  occupations  the  first  seven  years  of  his  reign 
passed  away,  for  the  war  did  not  break  out  until  B.c.  171. 

During  the  first  three  years  nothing  of  importance  was 
effected,  but  a  general  feeling  began  to  develop  among 
the  Greeks  that  they  ought  to  support  Macedonia  rather 
than  Rome.  Perseus's  foreign  allies,  however,  fell  away 
one  after  another,  as  he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to 
part  with  his  treasures.  At  last,  in  B.C.  168,  he  was 
defeated  in  a  gi'eat  and  decisive  battle  near  Fydna  by 
the  Roman  general  J^milius  Paullus.  Perseus  took  to 
flight,  carrying  his  treasures  with  him,  but  was  overtaken 
and  sent  to  Rome  as  a  prisoner. 

During  this  war  the  Achaeans,  though  reluctantly,  had 
fought  on  the  side  of  the  Bomans,  but  after  the  war  a 
great  many  were  denounced  as  having  either  openly  or 
secretly  favoured  the  cause  of  Macedonia,  In  consequence 
of  this,  upwards  of  1000  Achaeans,  and  among  them  the 
historian  Polybios,   were   arrested   and   sent   to  Rome, 

where  they  were  distributed  among  vaiious  towns  of 

Italy,  and  kept  as  hostages.  For  seventeen  years  they 
remained  in  this  condition,  and  when  in  B.c.  151  they 
were  allowed  to  return  to  their  own  country,  their  num- 
ber was  reduced  by  deaths  to  300L      The  JEtolians,  who 


f 


144 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


I 


had  incurred  the  same  suspicion,  were  treated  with  much 
more  severity,  for  upwards  of  500  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished among  them  were  put  to  death,  and  large 
numbers  were  sold  into  slavery. 

These  were  severe  blows,  but  worse  were  yet  to  come. 
It  would  appear  that  the  Athenians  at  this  time  were 
reduced  to  such  a  state  of  poverty  that  they  had  recourse 
to  plundering  Orojjos,  a  town  in  their  own  territory.  A 
complaint  was  made  to  the  Roman  Senate,  and  commis- 
sionei-s  were  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  matter.  The 
Athenians,  refusing  to  appear  before  them,  were  sentenced 
to  pay  a  fine  of  500  talents.  Being  unable  to  raise  that 
sum,  they  addressed  a  petition  to  the  Senate  to  mitigate 
the  verdict,  and  the  fine  was  actually  reduced  to  100 
talents.  A  short  time  later  the  Athenians  repeated  the 
outrage  upon  Oropos,  which  now  applied  for  redress  to 
the  Achajans,  and  a  stem  decree  of  the  latter  sufficed  to 
protect  Oropos  against  similar  outmges. 

Meanwhile  a  pretender  had  arisen  in  Macedonia, 
who,  calling  himself  Philip  and  a  son  of  Perseus, 
claimed  the  throne.  The  Macedonians,  detesting  the 
Roman  yoke,  readily  believed  his  stoiy,  and  flocked 
around  his  standard.  In  the  ensuing  war  the  pretender 
at  first  gained  some  advantages,  but  in  B.C.  148,  C^cilius 
Metellus  defeated  and  afterwards  carried  him  to  Rome  in 
triumph.  During  this  war  the  Greeks  indulged  in  petty 
but  impotent  acts  of  hostility  towaids  the  Romans. 
Metellus,  who,  like  many  other  great  Romans,  liked  the 
Greeks  and  felt  interested  in  them,  advised  them  to  keep 
quiet,  and  promised  that  their  gi'ievances  should  be  looked 
into  by  Roman  conmiissionei*s.  When  these  latter  ar- 
rived at  Korinth,  the  assembled  Achseans  received  them 
in  the  most  insolent  and  unbecoming  maimer.  An  em- 
bassy sent  by  Metellus  himself  fared  no  better,  and  the 
Achaeans,  goaded  on  by  their  desperate  and  reckless 
leadei-s,  foolishly  declared  war  against  Rome.  Metellus, 
after  having  settled  the  affaii-s  of  Macedonia  and  reduced 
Thessaly,  marched  with  his  army  into  Bceotia,  b.c.  147. 
K7'itolaos,  the  Achaean  strategos,  had  intended  to  check 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


145 


the  progress  of  the  Romans  at  Thermopylae,  but  he  came 
too  late,  and  after  being  twice  defeated,  he  fled  and  was 
never  heard  of  again. 

The  Achaeans  now  began  to  see  their  folly,  for  while 
Metellus  entered  Boeotia,  a  Roman  fleet  landed  a  force 
in  Peloponnesus  and  ravaged  the  country.  Biceos,  now 
strategos  of  the  Achaeans  and  a  most  implacable  enemy 
of  the  Romans,  assembled  the  remaining  forces  of  the 
Achaeans  and  a  large  body  of  armed  slaves  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Korinth.  Metellus,  after  destroying  the  city 
of  Thebes,  advanced  towards  Megara,  and  once  more  tried 
to  persuade  the  Greeks  to  lay  down  their  arms  j  but  all 
offers  were  rejected  by  the  infatuated  Diaeos.  During 
these  negotiations,  the  period  of  Metellus's  command 
came  to  an  end,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  L.  Mummiics, 
a  rude  soldier,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  the  Greeks. 
He  occupied  the  isthmus  with  a  large  army ;  and  at  a 
place  called  Leukopetra,  near  Korinth,  he  fought  a  battle, 
in  B.C.  146,  which  decided  the  fate  of  Greece  for  ever. 
When  Diaeos  found  that  all  was  lost,  he  fled  with  a  small 
body  of  his  followers  to  Megalopolis,  his  native  place, 
where  he  killed  his  wife,  and  then  took  poison  and  set 
his  house  on  fire,  in  order  that  nothing  belonging  to  him 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans. 

Three  days  after  the  battle,  Mummius  entered  Korinth, 
which  he  ordered  to  be  sacked  and  destroyed  by  fire  :  all 
the  male  inhabitants  were  massacred,  and  the  rest  sold 
as  slaves.  The  Achaean  and  all  other  confederations  in 
Greece  were  dissolved,  and  the  territory  of  Korinth  be- 
came Roman  domain  land.  The  whole  of  Peloponnesus 
was  so  fearfully  ravaged  by  the  Roman  soldiery  that  the 
coimtry  was  almost  changed  into  a  wilderness.  Many 
of  the  severe  measures  adopted  at  first  were  afterwards 
relaxed,  and  many  of  the  Greek  cities,  even  under  the 
dominion  of  Rome,  continued  to  enjoy  a  kind  of  muni- 
cipal freedom.  Whether  Greece  was  at  once  constituted 
as  a  Roman  province  under  the  name  of  Achaia,  is  un- 
certain ;  its  political  life,  however,  was  extinguished,  and 
whatever  advantages  it  still  continued  to  enjoy,  it  owed 


146 


HISTORY   OF    GREECE. 


to  its  pre-etninence  in  the  arts  and  in  literature,  which 
continued  to  flourish  for  centuries  longer,  and  made 
Athens  in  particular  a  centre  of  attraction  to  young  men 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  who  wished  to  secure  that 
high  mental  culture  which  was  not  to  be  obtained  any- 
where else. 


rKRSIAN.KINa. 


COIN  OF  KOBINTH. 


APPENDIX 


GIVING  A 

SKETCH  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  GEEEC% 

FROM  B.C.  146  TO  THE  ACCESSION  OF 
KING  GEORGE,  1862. 

After  the  capture  of  Korinth,  Greece  for  the  first  time 
became  entirely  subject  to  a  foreign  power,  and  its 
history  henceforth  is  that  of  a  two  thousand  years'  agony 
under  foreign  dominion. 

For  more  than  450  years,  from  B.C.  146  to  a.d.  324, 
the  Romans  exercised  their  supremacy  over  Greece,  and 
were  succeeded  by  the  Byzantine  emperors,  from  a,d. 
324  to  1453.  The  latter  were  not  indeed  a  foreign 
power,  for  the  eastern  empire  was  essentially  Greek,  but 
still  entirely  different  from  the  genuine  ancient  Hellen- 
ism, and  while  it  lasted,  the  country  of  the  Greeks  was 
constantly  invaded  by  barbarians  from  the  north,  the 
east,  and  the  south,  and  seveml  parts  of  it  fell  into  their 
hands.  Lastly,  during  upwai-ds  of  400  years  (from  1453 
to  1821)  the  Greeks  were  under  the  cruel  and  brutal 


t 


ii 


148 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


»l 


?      T. 


II 


I 


1^ 


ShTcVun!^.  ^""'^^  "'^  ''^'  ^'^  ^^^^  ^^  ^-^^  p^^ 

During  these  2000  years,  the  Greeks  never  quietly 
acknowledged  the  right  of  foreigners  to  rule  over  them^ 
but  were  nearly  always  in  a  state  of  insurrection  against 
their  oppressors.  Although  deprived  of  their  national 
independence,  they  always  managed  in  their  towns  and 
cities  to  preserve  a  kind  of  local  self-government    and 

auerf^'T''''^  \'^'  overwhelming  power  of  thei;con. 
querors,  their  innate  genius,  their  language,  and  their 
hterature  always  exercised  a  certain  ^intellectual  and 
moral  supremacy  even  over  their  oppressors.  This 
strength  of  their  imtional  life  and  their  intelligence  have 
m  the  end  prociu-ed  their  freedom  and  independence. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


149 


1^1 


CHAPTER  I. 

GREECE   UNDER   THE   ROMANS    (b.C.  146  TO  A.D.  324). 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  at  first  the  Greeks  con- 
tinued  to  enjoy  a  kind  of  municipal  freedom,  for  every 
important  town  continued  to  be  governed  by  one  of  its 
own  citizens,  and  the  best  of  the  Romans  were  ready  to  do 
homage  to  the  genius  of  their  conquered  subjects,  and  were 
proud  of  bemg  famUiar  with  their  language  and  literature  • 
by  their  education  they  were  Hellenised,  they  spoke  and 
wrote  Greek,  and  regarded  Greece  as  their  intellectual 
mother.      Even  emperors  were  proud  of  being  citizens 
ot  Athens.     But  unfortunately  this  very  superiority  of 
the  Greeks  over  their  conquerors  also  excited  the  envy 
and  hatred  of  the  Roman  people,  and  the  name  GrcBculm, 
at  first  a  friendly  and  fiattering  appellation,  afterwards 
became  an  expression  of  contempt. 

The  natural  position  of  Greece  often  made  it  the  battle- 
tield   in   the  wars  of  the  Romans,  both  against  other 


nations  and  among  themselves.     This  circumstance  kept 
the  Greeks  in  constant  readiness  to  seize  any  opportunity 
of  recovering  their  freedom,  but  threw  the  country  into 
ever-increasing  misfortunes.    Thus  about  the  beginning  of 
the  first  century  B.C.,  Mithradates,  king  of  Pontus,  after 
havmg  driven  the  Romans  from  Asia  Minor,  proceeded 
to  make  war  on  them  even  in  Europe,  for  which  he 
sought  and  obtained  the  alliance  of  the  Greeks.      He 
sent    numerous   armies   into   Greece,  where    they   were 
joined  by  Lakedsemonians,  Achaeans,  Thebans,  and  more 
especially  by  the  patriotic  Athenians.     Mithradates  was 
at  first  successful,  and  for  a  short  time  Greece  enjoyed 
its  ancient  freedom.     The  Romans,  roused  by  the  threat- 
ening danger,  in  B.C.  87,  sent  Z.  Cornelius  Sulla  to 
Greece,  who  succeeded  in  reducing  most  of  the  revolted 
towns.     Peiraeeus  was  closely  blockaded ;  the  Athenians 
alone  held  out,  but  were  compelled  by  famine  in  the  year 
following  to  suiTender.     The  rage  of  the  conqueror  was 
terrible :  Peiraeeus  was  entirely  destroyed,  and  the  city 
of  Athens  was  the  scene  of  an  indiscriminate  massacre. 
Thousands  of  citizens  were  butchered,  and  as  many  more 
sold  into  slavery.     Thebes  and  other  towns  experienced 
the  same  fate.     The  richest  and  most  beautiful  temples 
at  Delphi,  Olympia,  and  Epidauros  were  plundered,  and 
their  costly  treasures  in  gold  and  silver  were  converted 
into  money.     The  most  beautiful  and  valuable  works  of 
art  were  conveyed  to  Rome,  and  many  were  lost  in  the 
sea  during  the  transport. 

Not  very  long  after  this  destructive  war,  Pompey  and 
Julius  Caesar,  the  two  most  eminent  Roman  generals  of 
the  time,  contending  for  the  sovereignty,  became  involved 
in  a  civil  war  which  divided  the  whole  emime  into  two 
hostile  parties.  The  Greeks,  ever  hoping  to  recover 
their  freedom,  took  part  in  the  tenible  contest  which 
raged  and  was  decided  in  Greece.  The  Athenians, 
Baotians,  and  Peloponnesians  sided  with  Pompey,  while 
the  Akanianians,  -ai:tolians,  and  a  portion  of  the  Epirots 
supix)i-ted  Caesar,  who  ultimately  defeated  liis  rival  in 
the  gi-eat  battle  of  Pharsalos  in  Thessaly,  b.c,  48.     All 


150 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


151 


■ 


Greece  had  now  to  submit  to  him,  but  he  treated  the 
people  with  more  clemency  than  Sulla  had  done;  the 
Megarians  alone  were  severely  dealt  with.  The  Athen- 
ians, whose  ancient  glory  he  respected  and  admired,  were 
honoured  with  presents ;  and  Korinth,  which  ever  since 
its  destruction  by  Mummius  had  been  in  ruins,  was 
rebuilt  in  b.c.  46. 

Two  years  later,  after  Caesar  was  murdered  at  Rome, 
a  new  civil  war  broke  out  in  Greece  between  Antcmy  and 
Octavianus  on  the  one  hand,  and  Brutv^  and  Cassius  on 
the  other.  The  Athenians  again  rose  in  arms  and  joined 
the  latter,  while  the  Lakedsemonians  united  their  forces 
with  the  former.  Antony  and  Octavianus  utterly  defeated 
their  opponents  in  B.C.  42  in  the  great  battles  of  Philippi, 
and  then  divided  the  Roman  empire  between  themselves. 
Greece  fell  into  the  hands  of  Antony,  who  having  himself 
been  educated  in  Greece,  treated  the  Athenians  with 
considerable  generosity,  and  often  took  up  his  abode  in 
their  illustrious  city,  imitating  their  manners  and  cus- 
toma  and  proud  of  being  called  a  Philhellene  and  Phil- 
athensDos  (a  friend  of  the  Greeks  and  a  friend  of  the 
Athenians). 

But  the  peace  did  not  last  long,  and  another  civil  war 
broke  out  between  Antony  and  Octavianus,  which  again 
was  carried  on  in  the  country  of  the  Greeks,  most  of 
whom  supported  Antony.  The  latter  was  completely 
overpowered  by  his  rival,  in  B.C.  31,  in  the  battle  of 
Aktion.  Octavianus,  or,  as  he  was  afterwards  called, 
Augustus,  treated  the  Greeks  with  kindness ;  he  ordered 
the  town  of  Patrse  to  be  rebuilt,  and  on  the  spot  where  he 
had  gained  his  great  victory  he  built,  in  commemoration 
of  it,  the  town  of  Nikopolis  (city  of  victory).  Patrae  and 
Athens  soon  became  the  most  populous  and  richest  cities 
of  Greece.  The  peace  which  the  Roman  empii-e  enjoyed 
under  Augustus  and  his  successors,  also  exei-cised  its 
beneficial  influence  uix)n  Greece,  and  many  of  its  towns, 
especially  Athens,  retained  their  ancient  self-government. 
Some  of  the  first  emperora,  however,  such  as  Caligula 
and  Nero,  carried  away  many  of  tho  aiii  treasuies  of 


Greece ;  while  others,  such  as  Trajan  and  especially  Ha- 
drian, neglected  no  opportunity  of  showing  their  affection 
and  respect  to  the  enslaved  Greeks.  Hadrian  often 
resided  in  his  beloved  Athens,  embellished  it  with  public 
buildings,  and  was  even  proud  of  the  title  of  Archou 
Eponymos  of  Athens. 

But  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  condition  of  Greece 
became  worse  from  year  to  year ;  the  many  and  bloody 
wars  had  depopulated  the  country ;  the  insecurity  of  pro- 
perty destroyed  its  commerce  and  industry,  and  the 
i-apacity  of  the  Romans  reduced  the  wealthiest  towns  to 
poverty.  The  corrupting  influence  of  the  coarser  man- 
ners of  the  Romans  and  of  their  gladiatorial  games  also 
exercised  a  demoralising  influence  upon  the  people,  and 
depraved  their  taste  in  art  and  literature. 

While  the  country  was  in  this  sad  condition,  it  was 
threatened  by  a  terrible  danger  from  the  north.  The 
Goths,  who  occupied  part  of  modem  Russia  and  Northern 
Germany,  commenced  their  invasions  of  the  Roman 
empire,  destroying  everywhere  whatever  came  in  their 
way,  and  in  the  year  253  threatened  to  overrun  Greece. 
The  Greeks,  as  in  the  days  of  Xerxes,  occupied  the  pass 
of  Thermopylae,  the  Athenians  rebuilt  their  walls,  and 
the  Peloponnesians  fortified  the  Korinthian  isthmus. 
By  this  means  and  the  fact  that  the  Goths  were  defeated 
by  the  Romans  in  Thrace,  Greece  was  saved  on  that 
occasion ;  but  in  267  the  Goths  invaded  Greece  by  sea 
and  destroyed  Korinth,  Argos,  and  many  other  towns 
both  on  the  mainland  and  in  the  islands.  The  Athen- 
ians, after  a  most  heroic  resistance,  were  overpowered ; 
their  fair  city  was  plundered,  destroyed,  and  deluged  with 
blood.  After  destroying  the  monuments,  the  barbarians 
also  intended  to  burn  the  manuscripts  in  the  libraries, 
when  one  of  them  saved  them  by  contemptuously  exclaim- 
ing, "  Leave  the  Greeks  their  books,  for  while  they  are 
occupied  with  them,  they  will  neglect  the  use  of  arms, 
and  be  conquered  all  the  more  easily."  While  the  Goths 
after  their  victory  were  giving  themselves  up  to  barbarous 
revelries,  the  historian  Dexippos,  the  bold  genei-al  of  the 


152 


HISTORY   OP   CEEECE. 


Athenians,  assembled  the  remaining  forces,  took  the  bar- 

barians  by  surprise  and  utterly  defeated  them.    Those  who 

escaped  into  lllyricum  were  almost  annihilated  by  the 

Jimperor  Galhenus.     Two  years  later,  the  Goths  in  still 

greaternumbers,  attacked  Thrace,  Macedonia,  Thessaly. 

and  other  parts  of  Greece  proper,  with  2000  ships,  but 

were  evei^where  repulsed  by  the  Emperor  Claudius  and 

tte  Greeks.     Smce  that  time,  Greece  for  two  centuries 

IZ^Ti^  barbarian  invasions,  but  suffered  much 

during  the  continual   disturbances  within  the  Eoman 

empire,  which  was  becoming  weaker  and  weaker. 

»„i  f.."'°^V"^r'*"'*.  ^'?''*  "''"<''*  ^^  Pl^ce  in  Greece, 
and  through  it  exercised  its  influence  over  the  whole 

A  k    !  ^V"^'^^,  ,7°'-Id.  'was  the  spread  of  Christianity 

About  the  middle  of  the  fii-st  century  after  Christ,  the 

apost  e  i'a«/  had  preached  Christianity  in   Macedonia 

especially  at  Thessalonike,  and  converted  many  Greek^ 

Bemg  persecuted,  he  went  to  Athens,  where  he  preached 

the   Gospel,  thoiigh   apparently  without  much  success. 

1  hence  he  proceeded  to  Korinth,  where  he  was  more  suc- 

31  nV'^r    "^^'"'t  pJ^fistianity  rapidly  spread  over  many 

parts  of  Greece.     At  that  time  the  Greek  language  was 

^oken  and  undei^tood  by  nearly  all  the  nations  round  the 

Wn'w"^"^?°i  Egypt  and  a  great  portion  of  Asia  bad 

been  Hell^iised  through  the  victories  of  Alexander  the 

Grea,t       This  general  diffusion  of  the  Greek  language 

was  the  great  external  means  by  which  the  new  reHgion 

was  easJy  made  known  throughout  the  ancient  world 

,-t,Xf  "Tn  ^  *?P""^  "^^  decaying  more  and  more,  and 
ite  downfall  was  fast  approaching;  but  there  still  existed 
on  the  other  hand  the  elements  of  a  better  state  of  thin<rs 
consisting  in  the  vigorous  and  manly  intellect  of  the 
G^-eeks,  and  in  the  m-esistible  strength  of  Christianity, 
ms  appears  to  have  been  perceived  by  the  Emperor 
t'Onstantine,  commonly  called  the  Great  (306-337)  who 
founded  the  Byzantine  empire  and  publ  cly  record 
and  established  Christianity  in  his  dominions.    ^^"^^ 


i 


HISTOEY  OF  GREECE. 


153 


CHAPTER  IL 

THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE,  FROM  330  TO  1453. 

Constantine's  mother,  Helena,  seems  to  have  sown  the 
seeds  of  Christianity  into  the  heart  of  her  son,  for  he  was 
born  and  brought  up  as  a  pagan.  He  became  emperor 
in  306,  and  being  involved  in  a  war  with  Maxentius, 
is  said  before  the  battle  to  have  seen  a  luminous  cross  in 
the  sky  with  the  inscription—-"  With  this  conquer."  He 
regarded  this  sign  as  an  indication  of  his  future  great- 
ness, and  from  that  time  he  favoured  the  Christians. 
Henceforth  he  devised  a  new  standard  for  his  armies 
called  the  laharum,  with  the  monogram  of  the  name  of 
Christ,  and  this  labarum  has  ever  since  remained  the 
symbol  of  the  Greek  nation.  Under  him  Christianity 
became  the  religion  of  the  empire ;  Christian  churches 
were  richly  endowed  and  protected,  and  Sunday  was  set 
ai)art  as  a  day  specially  devoted  to  worship.  The  lower 
classes  of  the  population,  which  had  sunk  into  terrible 
misery  through  the  long  wars  and  revolutions,  were 
taken  care  of  by  his  wisdom  and  firmness,  and  order  and 
justice  were  maintained  by  him  with  a  firm  hand. 

His  far-seeing  wisdom  is  perhaps  nowhere  more  strik- 
ing than  in  his  selection  of  a  site  for  his  eastern  capital. 
He  seems  to  have  been  convinced  that  the  western  part 
of  the  empire  could  not  endure  much  longer,  and  there- 
fore transfei-red  the  seat  of  power  into  the  eastern  or 
Greek  part  of  his  dominions.  In  the  year  330  he  built 
on  the  site  of  the  ancient  Byzantium  the  capital  of  the 
Eastern  empire,  called  after  himself  Comtantinopolis. 
Its  situation  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  in  the  whole 
world,  and  most  favourable  for  commerce  as  well  as  for 
war.  Many  of  the  treasures  of  art  and  monuments  of 
religion  were  transferred  from  the  ancient  to  the  new 
Itonie,  and  the  city  was  embellished  with  palaces  and 
splendid  public  buildings,  while  extensive  walls  and 
towera  were  built  for  its  defence.     Eminent  men  from 


1' 


15i 


HISTORY  OP  GREECE. 


all  parts  of  the  empire  were  invited  to  settle  at  Constan- 
tmople,  and  a  numerous  population  was  attracted  by 
privileges  and  other  advantages.  Though  by  birth  a 
Koman,  he  was  a  Greek  at  heart,  honoured  and  protected 
several  towns  of  Greece,  and  was  proud  of  being  called 
General  of  the  Athenians. 

T  ?^j®  ^r^^  empire  and  Christianity  were  thus  estab- 
lished about  the  same  time,  and  in  364  the  Eastern 
empire  was  finally  separated  from  that  of  the  West. 

Julian  (361-363),  one  of  the  successors  of  Constantine, 
a  man  of  great  genius,  a  brave  warrior,  and  a  wise  poll- 
tician,  had  deeply  studied  the  philosophy  and  litemture 
ot  the  ancient  Greeks,  and  in  his  enthusiasm  for  them 
formed  the  strange  determination  to  revive  the  reli*^ion 
of  Olympus  and  to  eradicate  Christianity,  thou<rh  he 
did  not  persecute  the  Christians.  This  extraordinary 
scheme,  though  perverse  and  utterly  impracticable,  never- 
theless  exercised  a  beneficial  influence  on  the  Greeks  • 
their  cities  and  their  philosophical  schools,  especially  that 
ot  Athens,  enjoyed  a  brief  period  of  revival ;  but  his 
designs  were  frustrated,  as  his  successors  returned  to 
Christianity. 

About  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  the  Goths  under 
their  king  Alaric  renewed  their  inroads  into  Thrace. 
Macedonia,  and  Thessaly.    They  forced  the  pass  of  Ther' 
mopylae,  and  for  a  whole  year  ravaged  Bceotia,  Attika, 
Korinth,  and  the  whole  of  Peloponnesus.      Athens  alone 
was  saved  by  the  payment  of  a  large  sum  of  money. 
J3eing  at  last  driven  out  of  Peloponnesus,  they  marched 
back  through  the  west  of  Greece  and  Epirus  into  the 
western  parts  of  Europe,  where  they  assisted  in  putting 
an    end    to  the  Latin   empire,    476.       The  Eastern   o? 
liyzantine  empire,  which  more  and  more  developed  its 
Crreek  character,  maintained  its  independence  for  nearly 
a  thousand  years  longer.     But  the  inroads  of  the  barbar- 
ians did  not  cease,  and  esi^ecially  the    Vandals,  after 
having  taken  possession  of  a  large  portion  of  Northern 
Africa,  infested  the  coasts  of  Greece  as  pu-ates,  but  were 
each  tune  successfully  rei^elled  by  the  imperial  troops 


' 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


155 


The  great  Emperor  Jtustinian  (527-555),  through  his 

able  generals  Belisarius  and  Narses,  conquered  the  Van- 
dals and  Gothic  tribes  which  had  made  themselves  masters 
of  Italy  and  North  Africa,  and  reunited  both  countries 
with  his  large  empire.  He  ordered  the  most  eminent 
lawyers  to  compile  a  great  code  of  laws  {Corpus  Juris 
Civilis)f  partly  written  in  Latin  and  partly  in  Greek, 

which  has  become  the  basis  of  the  laws  of  nearly  all 
European  nations.  In  his  reign  silkworms  are  said  to 
have  been  introduced  into  Europe  from  China.  Trade 
and  commerce  were  very  flourishing  under  him.  The 
magnificent  church  of  Holy  Wisdom  (Saint  Sophia)  at 
Constantinople,  was  buOt  in  his  reign ;  10,000  men  are 
said  to  have  been  engaged  upon  it  for  six  years. 

As  Justinian  had  conquered  the  Vandals  and  Goths, 
so  Ileraklios  (610-641)  repelled  in  victorious  battles  the 
Persians,  who  had  founded  a  new  Persian  empii-e  in  the 
third  century  after  Christ,  and  continually  plundered  the 
Greek  cities  in  Asia  Minor,  and  even  threatened  Con- 
stantinople itself. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  century  the  empire 
was  threatened  by  a  new  danger  from  Asia.  The  Arabs, 
inspired  by  the  new  religion  of  Mahomed,  attempted  to 
effect  its  general  difflision  among  the  nations  of  the  earth 

by  force  of  arms.  They  invaded  the  Greek  provinces  of 
Asia  Minor,  and  even  blockaded  Constantinople.  But 
the  emperor,  Leo,  the  Isaurian  (717-741),  by  his  bravery 
and  skill,  overpowered  them,  and  burned  the  fleet  by 
what  is  called  the  "  Greek  fire."  The  same  Leo  attempted 
to  forbid  the  worship  of  images  in  the  churches,  an  ex- 
ample which  was  followed  by  several  of  his  successors 
(who  are  hence  called  iconoclasts,  or  breakers  of  images), 
and  for  a  whole  century  caused  fearful  disturbances  in 
the  empii'e.  While  the  empire  was  secured  on  the  side 
of  Asia,  it  was  still  open  to  inroads  of  the  Bulgarians 
and  Slavonians.  The  former,  a  warlike  nation,  of  Turkish 
origin,  ravaged  the  northern  parts  of  the  empire,  and 
conquered  the  northern  districts  of  Thrace,  where  they 
settled,  and  gave  to  the  country  the  name  of  Bulgaria. 


>i\ 


156 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


157 


The  Slavonians  and  WalhcMans,  tribes  of  a  more  peace- 
ful disposition,  settled  in  Macedonia,  Thessaly,  Epinis 
and  the  rest  of  Greece,  adopted  Christianity,  and  by 
degrees  also  the  Greek  language,  so  that  they  peacefully 
amalgamated  with  the  Greeks ;  but  some  of  them  have 
continued  to  live  isolated,  as  shepherds,  down  to  the  pre- 
sent  day,  and  their  name  has  become  synonymous  with 
shepherds. 

For  more  than  five  centuries  the  Byzantine  emperors 
were  of  Roman  descent :  Byzantium  was  the  new  Rome 
and  the  empire  was  called  the  Roman,  The  language  of 
the  government,  especially  at  first,  was  generally  Latin  : 
r  .1^^  Vr^^',^*'^^^  infl.uence  of  tie  Greek  language  and 
ot  the  Church,  in  the  course  of  time  imperceptibly  Hel- 
Jenised  even  the  emperors  of  Roman  origin  and  the  whole 
government. 

In  the  year  867,  Basilios,  the  Macedonian,  was  the 
tirst  in  a  succession  of  genuine  Greek  emperors,  who  con- 
tmued  to  occupy  the  throne  until  the  downfall  of  the 
empire.  Under  them  the  last  remnants  of  the  Roman 
element  entirely  disappeared.     Basilios  and  his  siicces- 

^qS  afa^'^^Tl  ^/^^^'"^  (963-969),  Joannes  Zimhces 
(969-976),  and  Basihos  IL  (976-1025),  were  great  both 
as  warriors  and  as  statesmen.  They  repelled  the  Arabs 
m  the  East  and  in  the  South,  and  also  took  from  them 
the  island  of  Krete ;  while  in  the  North  and  West  they 
defeated  and  subdued  the  Bulgarians.  About  that  time 
the  Russians,  an  equally  barbarous  people,  under  their 

iJffnn  P""  (^f^)'  advanced  upon   Constantinople,  with 

1U,U00  boats,  but  were  entirely  defeated  by  Phokas,  and 

their  fleet  destroyed  by  the  Greek  fire.     In  the  year  955 

the  Russian  queen  Olga  went  to  Constantinople,  and  was 

there  converted  to  Christianity,  and  baptized  under  the 

name   of  Helena.     Vladimir,   980,   the  most  famous  of 

tne   old   Kussian   kings,  .also  requested    to  be  baptized 

by  Greek  priests.      He  received  the  name  of  Basilios 

and    married   Anna,    the    sister   of    Basilios,    who   wa^ 

then  emperor.     Anna,  on  going  to  Russia,  was  accom- 

panied  by  a  number  of  Greek  scholais  and  ai-tisans,  to 


whom  Russia  owes  the  fii*st  elements  of  Christianity  and 
of  civilisation. 

During  three  centuries  the  empire  was  powerful,  tran- 
quil, and  prosperous;  and  commerce  and  navigation 
flourished.  Literature  and  science  were  so  much  culti- 
vated among  the  Greeks  that  they  not  unjustly  looked 
upon  the  western  nations  as  barbarians.  Theology  and 
pulpit  eloquence,  which,  even  during  previous  centuries, 
under  such  men  as  Joannes  Chrysostomos,  Basilios,  and 
Gregorios,  had  risen  to  a  height  never  surpassed,  were 
studied  and  cultivated  with  great  zeal.  Public  morality, 
though  low  and  depraved,  as  is  always  the  case  under 
despotic  governments,  was  still  far  better  than  it  had 
been  in  Rome  under  the  emperors.  To  this  period  also 
belongs  the  eventful  separation  (schism)  of  the  Greek 
from  the  Roman  Church.  The  pretensions  of  Pope 
Nicolav^  were  vigorously  and  successfully  repelled  by 
the  patriarch  Photios  (858-891),  the  greatest  scholar  of 
his  age,  who  exposed  the  unchristian  character  of  the 
Papacy,  both  in  its  dogmas  and  in  its  conduct.      Since 

then  the  Papacy  has  displayed  an  implacable  hatred  of 

everything  Greek,  and  the  nations  of  the  West  were  urged 
to  make  war  upon  the  Byzantine  empire,  the  riches  of 
which  furnished  an  additional  incitement. 

As  early  as  the  year  1080,  Robert  Guiscard,  prince  of 
lower  Italy,  invaded  Epirus  and  Thessaly,  but  Alexis 
Komnenos  repelled  him.  In  the  year  1146,  Robert  II., 
king  of  Sicily,  took  possession  of  the  island  of  Kerkyra, 
which,  however,  was  soon  recovered  by  the  Greeks,  and 
attacked  and  ravaged  Korinth  and  other  Greek  cities. 
At  last,  in  the  year  1204,  the  Venetians,  accompanied  by 
several  French  princes  and  a  powerful  fleet,  assailed  and 
took  Constantinople.  The  city  was  plundei-ed,  and,  in- 
flamed by  fanaticism,  the  conquerors  slaughtered  several 
thousand  men.  They  proclaimed  one  of  themselves 
emperor,  and  distributed  the  portions  of  the  empire 
which  they  had  conquered  among  several  independent 
chiefs.  Only  three  large  Greek  provinces  remained  un- 
conquered  and  under  Greek  rulers — ^viz.,  in  Asia  Minor, 


158 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


^  %k(2a  and  Trapezus,  and  Upirus  in  Europe.     The  prin- 
cipality of  Niksea,  owing  to  the  valour  and  skill  of  its 
rulers,  Theodores  Laskaris  and  Joannes  Dukas,  became 
the  most  important.     But  the  power  of  the  foreign  con- 
querors did  not  last  long,  partly  on  account  of  the  feuds 
and  discord  among  the  Frankish  princes  themselves,  and 
partly  on  account  of  the  great  hostility  between  Greeks  and 
Franks.     At  last,  in  the  year  1261,  Alexis  Strategopulos, 
general  of  Michael  Palseologos,  prince  of  Niksea,  havincr 
discovered  a  subterraneous  passage  leading  into  Constan*^ 
tinople,  entered  the  city  by  night  with  800  men,  and 
became  master  of  it ;  and  Michael  Pal^ologos  soon  after 
entered  the  city  with  great  pomp.     Thus  the  Venetian 
empire  of  Constantinople  came  to  an  end,  after  an  exist- 
ence of  half  a  century  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  Pelopon- 
nesus, of  continental  Greece,  and  of  the  islands,  remained 
for  centui'ies  in  the  hands  of  the  Venetians. 

Scarcely  had  the  empire  been  partially  freed  from  the 
western  conquerors  when  it  was  threatened  by  a  more 
senous  danger  from  the  east.     The  Turks,  after  having 
conquered  several   Greek  provinces  in  Asia,  appeared, 
under  their  leader,  Ourkhan,  on  the  Hellespont,  and  con- 
quered Kallipolis.     His  son,  Murat  (1359-1389),  made 
himself  master  of  Philippopolis,  Adrianopolis,  and  a  great 
part  of  Thrace,  Adrianopolis  becoming  the  residence  of 
the  Turkish  sultans.      His  successors  continued  irresist- 
ibly to  extend  their  conquests.     Meanwhile  (1440),  Con- 
stantine  Palseologos,  brother  of  the  Emperor  of  Byzantium, 
and  prince  of  that  part  of  Peloponnesus  still  belontr- 
ing  to  the  empire,  succeeded  in  driving  the  Venetian?, 
not  only  from  the  peninsula,  but  from  Attika  and  the 
whole  of  northern  Greece.     But  the  Venetians  now  ap- 
plied  for  assistance  to  the  Turks,  who,  united  with  the 
Franks,   in  the  neighbourhood  of  Korinth   (1446)  con- 
quered Constantine,  who  thereupon  withdrew  to  his  pos- 
sessions in  Peloponnesus.     The  Turks,  fired  by  religious 
fenaticism,   and  in  their  wild  valour,   were  invincible 
One  man  only  was  a  mateh  for  them— that  was  Gecyrgios 
Aastnotes,     commonly    called     Skanderbeg,     prince    of 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


159 


Albania,  in  northern  Epirus,  one  of  the  grandest  heroes 
in  history.  During  five-and-twenty  years  he  fought 
successfully  against  the  numerous  hosts,  and  his  name 
was  the  terror  of  the  Turks,  while  it  inspired  the  Greeks 
with  hope.  It  was  only  after  his  death  that  Albania 
was  conquered,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Albanians 
was  forced  to  adopt  the  religion  of  Islam. 

Constantinople  was  thus  gradually  surrounded  on  all 
sides  by  Turkish  conquests.     Peloponnesus  and  part  of 
continental  Greece  were  the  only  portions  of  the  great 
empire  that  were  not  subdued,  when,  in  the  year  1453, 
in  the  month  of  April,  Sultan  Mahomed  II.,  a  wild  but 
able  warrior,  approached  Constantinople  with  an  army  of 
300,000  men,  and  400  ships.     The  chivalrous  Emperor 
Constantine  Palseologos  assembled  the  feeble  remains  of 
his  forces,  and  with  them  resolved  to  resist  the  enemy 
even  unto  death.     It  was  in  vain  that  he  had  implored 
the  assistance  of  the  Pope  and  the  Western  princes.     The 
former  promised  help,  but  only  on  condition  of  the  Greeks 
acknowledging  his  supremacy,  and  reuniting  with  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.     But  the  Emperor  and  all  the 
people  of  Constantinople  exclaimed,  "  The  Turkish  turban 
is  a  thousand  times  better  than  the  Papal  tiara."     There 
was  now  no  other  hope,  and  they  resolved  to  die  honour- 
ably.    For  seven  weeks  the  Turks  continued  their  furious 
assaults  upon  the  city,  but  were  each  time  repulsed  by 
the  brave  determination  of  the  Greeks.     The  barbarians 
began  to  despair.    Mahomed,  maddened  with  anger  and 
shame,  then  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  forces,  declared 
that  the  lives  and  property  of  the  conquered  should  belong 
to  the  soldiers,  but  the  land  and  the  stones  to  himself. 
By  this  means  he  inspired  his  men  with  fresh  courage, 
who  were  at  the  same  time  goaded  on  from  behind  by 
their  officers  with  lashes  and  sticks.     At  last,  on  the  29th 
of  May,  the  Turks  succeeded  in  scaling  the  walls  of  the 
city,  and  Constantine,  addressing  the  survivors  of  his 
subjects,  said,  "  As  it  is  not  God's  will  that  we  should 
save  our  country  by  our  blood,  let  us  at  least  leave  to  our 
descendants  an  example  of  virtue  ^nd  valour,  that  they 


160 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


may  preserve  their  faith  and  nationality."    For  three  days 
the  Turks  continued  the  butchery  of  the  people  and  the 

devastation   of  their  homes.       The  streets  were  covered 
with  blood  and  corpses,  and  nothing  was  heard  but  the 
shrieks  and  lamentations  of  the  victims,  and  the  shoutincr 
and  laughmg  of  the  barbarians.     The  sultan  himself  set 
the  example  of  cruelty  as  he  had  done  that  of  bravery  • 
for  he  ordered  the  body  of  Constantine,  who  had  been 
slam  by  the  enemy,  together  with  his  faithful  followers 
to  be  searched  for  among  the  corpses,  trampled  his  head 
under  his  feet,  cut  it  off,  and  sent  it  as  a  trophy  into 
Asia.     AH  the  surviving  members  of  the  imperial  family 
and  all  the  notables  of  the  empire  were  butchered  before 
his  eyes,  while  he  wa^  enjoying  himself  at  a  banquet  ; 
and  a  fair  maiden,  of  the  name  of  Irene,  was  beheaded 
by  himself,  before  the  eyes  of  his  soldiers.     On  the  third 
day  he  ordered  the  slaughtering  to  be  stopped,  and  to 
carry  the  rich  booty  to  the  ships.     The  fleet  was  filled 
with  treasures  of  every  kind,  and  thousands  of  men  and 
women   were   carried   into   Asia   to   be  sold  as  slaves. 
Ihousands  of  manuscripts  of  ancient  Greek  authors  were 
destroyed    or  were  sold  for  a  mere  trifle.     The  Greeks 
who  had  been  able  to  escape  took  refuge  in  some  Greek 
islands  and  in  Italy.     Among  the  latter  there  were  many 
famous  Greek  scholars,  who  introduced  a  knowledge  of 
the  Greek  language  and  literature  into  Italy,  and  thus 
paved  the  way  for  the  revival  of  letters  in  the  West,  and 
for  the  Protestant  Reformation,  which  was  the  result  of 
It     The  most  illustrious  among  these  exiled  Greeks  were 
Constantine  and  John  Laskaris,  Theodore  Gazis,  Bessarion. 
Chalkokondylas,  KaUergis,  and  Mussuros. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


CHAPTER  III. 


161 


GREECE  UNDER  THE  TURKS,  FROM  1453  TO  1821. 

After  having  satisfied  the  rapacity  of  his  soldiers,  Ma- 
homed proceeded  to  organise  his  conquest.     All  Greeks 
were  declared  slaves,  who  had  no  right  to  possess  any- 
thing,   and  their  very  lives  were  at  the  mercy  of  the 
conquerors.      Every   Greek,   therefore,    from   his   tenth 
year,   had  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  (haratzsch),  which 
was  to  prove  that  he  had  purchased  his  life  of  the  sultan 
for  one  jear.    All  the  land  was  declared  to  be  the  property 
of  the  ruler,  and  was  given  partly  to  Turkish  dignitaries, 
or  set  apart  for  the  religious  purposes  of  the  Turks.     All 
possessions,  even  the  smallest,  left  to  the  Greeks  were  re- 
garded as  a  gracious  gift  of  the  sultan,  which  however 
might  be  taken  away  at  any  time.    The  oppressive  tribute, 
which  was  constantly  and  arbitrarOy  increased,  rendered 
every  kind  of  industry  and  commerce  almost  impossible, 
and  when  a  man  acquired  wealth,  it  was  at  the  risk  of  his 
life,  for  he  was  at  once  suspected  of  endeavouring  to  raise 
himself  above  the  condition  of  slavery.      But  the  most 
fearful  tribute  the  Christians  had  to  pay  was  this  :    One- 
fifth  of  all  Christian  boys  were  annually  forced  away 
from  their  families  and  educated  in  the  religion  of  Islam, 
and  out  of  them  was  formed  the  corps  of  Janissaries,  who 
by  their  savage  valour  became  the  terror  of  the  Christians 
themselves.     Many  Greek  mothers,  in  order  to  free  their 
sons  from  this  terrible  fate,  killed  them  with  their  own 
hands,  and  then  put  an  end  to  their  own  lives.      Under 
such  a  government,  mental  culture,  commerce,  and  in- 
dustry  were   impossible.      Among   all   the  misfortunes 
which  the  Greek  nation  had  to  endure  ever  since  the 
conquest  of  Korinth,  this  was  the  most  terrible,  and  the 
nation  would  have  perished  had  it  not  been  for  the 

stupidity  of  its  savage  tyrants,  and  the  noble  patriotism 
of  its  priests.  The  Turks,  stupid,  ignorant,  and  indolent, 
could  not  and  would  not  take  the  trouble  to  govern  their 


i 

'  ft 


^  l\ 


162 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


Christian  slaves.      They  found  it  most  convenient  and 
comfortable  to  have  to  deal  with  a  single  individual,  re- 
presenting  the   whole   Greek   nation,  whom   they  held 
responsible,  and  whom  they  might  on  the  slightest  sus- 
picion put  to  death.      This  person  was  the  Patriarch, 
Who  after  the  fall  of  the  empire  remained  the  highest 
dignitary  of  the  Greek  nation.     Fortunately  there  lived 
at  the  tune  a  priest  of  the  name  of  Gewgios  Gmnadios, 
one  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  his  age,  and  a  profound 
and  energetic   politician,  to  whom  the  eyes  of  all  the 
Greeks  were  then  directed,  and  who  about  that  time  was 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  patriarch.     Mahomed  recognised 
him  as  the  head  of  the  Greek  nation,  and  showed  him 
personally  great  respect  on  account  of  his  genius  and 
eloquence,  but  at  the  same  time  held  him  responsible  for 
the  nation.      Gennadios  organised   the   patriarchate   as 
both  the  pohtical  and  ecclesiastical  government  of  the 
Greeks.     In  every  province  the  bishop,  dependent  on  the 
patriarch  became  the  political  as  well  as  the  ecclesiastical 
guide  and  teacher  of  the  Greeks,  and  his  duties  consisted 
not  only  m  regulating  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  but  in 
governing  his  diocese  also  politically.     He  was  the  freelv- 
acknowledged  judge  in  all  private  affairs.      He  had  to 
superintend  the  schools  which  preserved  the  langua^re,  as 
well  as  the  churches  which  upheld  the  religion  of  the 
nation,  and  both  together  preserved  the  national  character 
ot  the  people.      Thus  it  happened  that  in  their  disputes 
among  themselves,  the  Greeks  never  appeared  in  Turkish 
courts   of  justice.      As  the   bishop   of  a  province  was 
dependent  on  the  patriarch,  so  the  lower  clergy  in  the 
villages  were  dependent  on  the  bishop,  and  carried  on 
the  same  patriotic  business.     In  all  their  daily  prayers 
the   priests   and   bishops   implored   God   to   give   them 
the  victory  over  the  barbarians.     Another  truly  patriotic 
power,  that  of  the  PHnmtes  (Archontes),  was  united  with 
and  subject  to  this  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.      These  pri- 
mates were  freely  elected  by  the  people  themselves  to 
regiilate  all  their  civil  affairs ;  they  collected  the  different 
tributes,  and  handed  them  over  to  the  Tiu-kish  authorities- 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


163 


they  protected  the  people  against  the  arbitrary  proceed- 
ings of  the  Turkish  civil  and  military  powers,  pai-tly 
by  persuading  and  partly  by  bribing  the  pashas.  They 
also  regulated  the  revenues  of  every  commune,  and  ad- 
ministered them  with  perfect  freedom.  They,  like  the 
priests,  were  recognised  by  the  Tui'ks  as  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people,  but,  like  the  priests,  they  were  also 
responsible  for  them.  Thus  the  clergy  and  the  primates 
preserved  the  nationality  and  self-government  of  the 
Greek  nation  even  under  the  oppressive  rule  of  the  Tui-kish 
tyi-ants,  and  kept  their  people  in  absolute  separation  from 
the  Turks.  Hence  no  marriage  ever  took  place  between 
Turks  and  Greeks;  no  Greek  adopted  the  religion  of 
Mahomed,  and  no  intercourse  existed  between  the  two 
nations.  The  only  feeling  between  them  was  that  of 
burning  hatred.  But  priests  and  primates  had  often  to 
seal  their  patriotic  mission  with  their  blood,  for  at  every 
rising  of  the  Greek  people,  and  whenever  a  suspicion 
arose,   they  were  the  first  victims,  whether  they  were 

patriarchs  of  Constantinople,  bishops,  or  the  poorest  priests 

and  primates  of  a  commune. 

Independently  of  the  clergy  and  the  primates,  the 
most  important  elements  of  the  Greek  nation  under  the 
Turkish  dominion  consisted  of  what  were  called  the 
Klephts.  This  was  the  name  of  the  warlike  and  in- 
vincible mountaineers  of  Epirus,  Thessaly,  Akarnania, 
-^tolia,  Arkadia,  and  Maina  (Lakonia).  Those  moun- 
tainous countries  had  always  been  inhabited  by  warlike 
tribes,  and  since  the  Turkish  conquest,  all  men  who  loved 
their  freedom  and  refused  to  recognise  the  Turkish  do- 
minion, had  taken  refuge  there.  From  their  mountains 
they  carried  on  a  perpetual  war  against  the  Turks,  led 
an  entii-ely  free  life,  and  kept  up  an  uninterrupted  rebel- 
lion against  the  enemies  of  their  country  and  their  faith. 
Protected  by  their  mountains,  they  despised  the  attacks 
of  the  Turks,  and  sometimes  they  unexpectedly  fell  upon 
their  enemies  like  flashes  of  lightning.  They  were  al- 
ways in  commotion,  and,  Heing  as  cautious  as  they  were 
bold,  they  became  the  terror  of  the  Turks.      Their  whole 


n 


Tl 


1G4 


HISTORY   OF    GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


165 


life  and  happiness  was  to  cany  on  war;  to  die  on  a  sick 
bed  was  regarded  by  them  as  the  greatest  misfoi-tune  and 
the  greatest  shame.  The  love  of  war  was  united  with 
that  of  song  and  poetry,  and  every  successful  exploit 
against  the  Turks  was  immediately  celebrated  in  song. 
Ihese  songs  are  among  the  most  beautiful  of  popular 
poems,  and  ai-e  Uke  an  epic  history  of  that  uninterrupted 
armed  protestation  of  the  Greek  mountaineers  against 
lurkish  tyranny,  and  through  them  all  there  runs  a  fii-m 
belief  that  a  time  will  come  when  the  nation  shall  be  free 
again  The  Greek  nation  after  the  Turkish  conquest 
thus  lived  under  these  three  protecting  elements. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  conquerors.     Mahomed  wajs 
not  satisfied  with  the  conquest  of  Northern  Greece  •  he 
also  made  himself  master  of  the  island  of  Eubcea  and  of 
Athens  (where  he  changed  the  Parthenon  into  a  mosque), 
and  penetrated  into  Peloponnesus.     Most  of  the  cities 
and  foi-tresses  of  Peloponnesus,  as  well  as  most  of  the 
islands  were  then  governed  by  the  Venetians,  who  hence- 
torth  became  mvolved  in  bloody  wars  with  the  Turks 
^i^hich  lasted  for  nearly  300  years.     These  wara  were  dis. 
astrou^  for  the  Greeks,  for  their  country  was  the  perpetual 
scene  of  these  protracted  contests,  and  they  always  found 
themselves  between  two  enemies,  each  of  whom  aimed  at 
the  enslaving  of  Greece  and  the  destruction  of  its  people 
In  those  times,  therefore,  the  position  of  the  Greeks  was 
most  deplorable,  for  when  they  sided  with  the  Venetians 
the  most  terrible  vengeance  was  wreaked  upon  them  by 
the  Turks  (on  one  occasion  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  villa<Te 
in  Peloponnesus  were  sawn  through  in  the  middle  fSr 
this   ofience) ;   and  if  they  suppoi-ted  the  Turks,  which 
scarcely  ever  happened,  the  Venetians  treated  them  with 
almost    equal    cruelty    (in    one   case   they    canied    off 
from  a  single  town  2000  Greeks,  whom  they  sold  as 
slaves);    and   when   they  remained  neutral,  they  were 
tortured  by  both.      Still  the  Greeks  could  not  remain 
indifferent  for  they  still  cherished  the  hope  of  recovering 
then-  freedom  by  their  arms.     The  Venetians  seemed  il 
them  a  lesser  evil,  partly  because  they  were  Chi-istiana, 


and  partly  because  the  cunning  Italians  always  held  out 
to  them  the  hope  of  freedom,  if  once  the  Turks  were 
conquered.  Their  object,  however,  was  to  retain  a  firm 
hold  on  Greece,  and  to  ruin  its  commerce  and  navy,  in 
which  they  fully  succeeded.  The  large  silk  manufac- 
tories of  Athens  and  Korinth,  which  ever  since  the  days 
of  Justinian  had  been  the  first  in  Europe,  were  destroyed 
and  transplanted  to  Venice  and  Genoa. 

In  the  year  1522  the  great  Suliman  I.  became  master 
of  the  island  of  Rhodos,  though  not  without  great  efforts, 
for  the  Greeks,  united  with  the  Venetians  and  the 
Knights  Templars,  defended  themselves  most  heroically. 
The  survivors  of  the  knights  took  refuge  in  Malta. 
Soon  after  the  Turks  conquered  several  islands,  and  laid 
siege  to  Kerkyra,  but  being  repulsed  by  the  inhabitants  and 
the  Venetians,  they  laid  waste  Zakynthos,  Kephalenia, 
and  other  islands.  Not  long  after  he  gained  possession 
of  the  remaining  Venetian  fortresses  in  Peloponnesus, 
which  induced  the  Venetians  to  solicit  the  friendship  of 
the  Turk. 

His  successor,  JSelim,  took  the  large  and  beautiful 
island  of  Kyprus  from  the  Venetians,  after  a  furious 
contest  which  had  lasted  a  whole  year  from  1570  to 
1571.  This  war  attracted  the  attention  of  all  the  western 
nations  on  account  of  the  heroic  resistance  of  the  inhabi- 
tants and  the  mad  cruelty  of  the  barbarians.  In  the 
city  of  Leukosia  20,000  men  were  slaughtered,  and  40,000 
sold  as  slaves.  The  town  of  Phi^amagusta  capitulated 
after  a  brave  resistance  of  ten  months,  being  solemnly 
promised  that  the  lives  of  the  inhabitants  would  be 
spared,  and  that  they  would  be  allowed  to  depart  un- 
molested. But  this  promise  was  broken  as  usual,  and 
when  the  gates  were  oj^ened,  the  men  were  butchered  and 
the  rest  of  the  population  carried  off  as  slaves.  Soon 
after,  however,  the  bai'barians  suffered  a  severe  loss,  for 
the  whole  Turkish  fleet,  consisting  of  200  ships,  was 
entirely  destroyed  off  JSTaupaktos  by  the  allied  fleets  of 
the  Venetians,  the  Pope,  and  the  Emperor,  under  the 
command  of  Don  Juan  of  Austria.    Nearly  the  whole  of 


■"n^l 


166 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


167 


«ie  Yenetian  fleet  on  that  occasion  was  manned  by 
Oreeks,  who  as  usual  fought  with  enthusiasm  for  Chris- 
tianity and  their  own  independence. 

Kreta,  the  largest  and  most  important  island  in  the 
Greek  seas,  still  owned  the  supremacy  of  the  Venetians, 
and  the  struggle  to  retain  possession  of  it  lasted  for  thirty 
years;  but  the  end  of  it  was  that  the  Venetians  kept 
only  a  few  fortresses  in  the  island,  and  seeing  the  dan-^r 
of  losing  all,  they  applied  for  help  to  all  the  Christfan 

Ta^    JT^^V^  '^!  ^^^"^^^^^  ^^^  ^^  ^^«^7  of  6000  men 
under  the  Dukes  of  Beaufort  and  Navarie.     The  Turks 

S/    r  1  ^^"^^^'^  '^^^"^  ^^°^^"«  ^^^  ^^  military 
ability,  as  for  his  diplomatic  skiU,  in  the  end  (1670)  sue 

ceeded  in  wresting  the  whole  island  from  the  Venetians, 

whose  dommion  in  Greece  for  a  time  came  to  an  end 

hvZ     TTT'i^fr^  ^?^'^'  *^^  Venetians,  commanded 
by  the  celebrated  Morosini,  and  assisted  by  the  Greeks 

recovered  the  whole  of  Pelopomiesus,  and  the  year  after 
Athens  also  fell  mto  their  hands.     It  was  on  that  occa- 

Zh^ohlfl  u  ^"^"*f f  ^r ^   destroyed  the  Parthenon, 
which  had  been  used  by  the  Tiu-ks  as  a  powder  magazine 
After  Morosmi^  death,  the  Venetians  lost  their  conquests 
w^fh^ffV""?*^"''  n^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^y  ^^^^l^^ed  a  peace 

them  \^T^%  ^]  7^^\  Peloponnesus  alone  was  left  to 
them.  But  m  1715,  under  Achmed  III,  the  Turks  also 
conquered  that  peninsula,  and  since  then  all  the  countries 
mhabi  ed  by  Greeks  have  belonged  to  Turkey,  with  the 

s'Sct'rV'^  '^%^"  Islands,^hich  in  17^97  becam: 
subject  to  France,  afterwards  to  Russia,  and  in  1815 
were  placed  under  the  protection  of  England 

But  from  that  time  the  Turkish  power  became  weaker 
and  weaker  while  they  gave  the  reins  to  their  rapacity, 
ciuelty,  and  other  vices.      Even  before  that  time  they 

Theoli  ^'^^^;,^^T^y  they  lost  their  best  soldiers. 
icJml^f  •  '  r  *^f  ^''^^^''  ^^^^^^'  although  suflTering  every 
SselveT  Vr^  i.^ominy,  gi-adually  began  to  Recover 
tiiemselves.      Their  provmcial  self-government  was  gra- 


dually more  fully  developed,  and  owing  to  the  gi'oss 
ignorance  of  the  Turks  they  contrived,  at  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  to  insinuate  themselves  as  grand 
dragomans  or  interpreters,  doing  all  the  business  of  the 
foreign  office  of  the  empire,  and  thus  gained  considerable 
influence  in  all  the  afiairs  of  the  state,  and  had  many 
opportunities  of  secretly  supporting  and  benefiting  their 
unhappy  countrymen.  Under  their  protection  schools 
were  established  in  all  pai-ts  of  the  country.  The  most 
distinguished  among  these  patriotic  men  was  Alexander 
Maurokordatos,  eminent  both  for  his  learning  and  his 
ekiU  as  a  politician.  Soon  after  these  Greeks  of  Con- 
stantinople obtained  from  the  Turks  the  suzerainty  of 
Moldavia  and  WaUachia.  The  first  of  them  was  Nicholas 
Maurokordatos,  son  of  Alexander,  and  like  his  father,  an 
eminent  scholar  and  politician.  The  Greek  princes,  who 
governed  these  provinces  until  1821,  were  the  first  to 
introduce  civilisation  into  those  semi-barbarous  countries, 
and  by  their  enlightened  measures  promoted  the  education 
and  commerce  of  the  Greeks,  who  were  gradually  rising  in 
material  prosperity  under  the  watchful  care  of  the  Church, 
the  primates,  and  the  secret  protection  of  the  wealthy 
Greeks  at  Constantinople  and  elsewhere. 

But  this  re\dval  of  the  Greek  nation  was  tenibly 
interrupted  in  1769.  The  Empress  Catharine  of  Russia 
was  then  at  war  with  the  Turks,  and  the  Greeks,  ever 
watchful  of  an  opportunity  to  recover  their  freedom, 
availed  themselves  of  this  war  and  rose  in  arms  in  Maina 
and  throughout  Peloponnesus.  The  Empress  promised 
to  send  armies  and  fleets  for  then-  support,  but  only  a 

few  ships  appeared,  under  the  command  of  Orloff.  The 
Turks  called  in  the  assistance  of  large  numbers  of  wild 
Albanese,  who  everywhere  raged  with  Aire  and  sword. 
But  in  spite  of  the  heroism  of  the  Greeks  and  especially 
of  the  Mainots  (the  ancient  Lakedaemonians),  and  of 
Andrutsos,  a  famous  chief  of  the  Klephts,  the  Turks  sup- 
pressed the  insurrection  and  desolated  Peloponnesus  by 
their  ravages.  The  Russians  abandoned  their  Greek  allies 
and  sailed  to  Asia  Minor,  where  in  1770,  under  the  brave 


i-J! 


■"ni 


1G8 


HISTORY    OP    GREECE. 


on  all  ^^  of  Greece,  .nat^Z't^^  tZSu^l 

wT  '  and  others,  were  deluged  in  blood, 
m  the  mountainous  distrirf<j     Th^  n     ,""**>  ^^F^iaJiy 

Turk  ^ve1seb"it]:^  °'**?-  ***^'^^''  ^"-^  ^P*"^^ 
t),»  «.  r  y^^f  ^V   ^*  *"®  ^""^  *"iie  the  heroic  peoDle  of 

jney  mamtained  themselves,  shut  in  as  thev  werp  witl.;,, 

t  ra'^H""*"r'  -i*-' provisions  and  wltW  ammt 
t^on  and  weakened  by  diseases  and  deaths,  untU^e  end 

ducedtoahot^'lesscondL-ot  Ar  "*"  ^^7^^  '""^^  '^■ 
and  other  hZeXttTn^^Z^'f^'^T^'^^T' 
and  thy  promises;  the  smoke  of  I^e  hu^tno^'"'  '^"^ 
Urns  is  dearer  to  us  than  all  thy  tteastres  "     M  C"^- 

r'^t=ittt»it"£^^^^ 

^  T^''  -  ^^r-^ifAi^z^:^  "hr  tr^ 

wHh  the'^inCtrS  i^r"^  ^^^^i-es,  a.d  motH 
the  precipices      onhr  ^  f   "™'  l*"? ^  themselves  down 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


169 


the  very  bones  of  their  ancestors,  proceeded  to  the  Ionian 
Islands,  where  they  finally  settled. 

The  French  revolution  gave  to  the  Greeks  a  fresh 
impulse  :  schools  were  established  everywhere,  and  the 
most  learned  endeavoured  to  inspii'e  them  with  a  love 
of  culture,  virtue,  and  freedom.  The  most  celebrated 
among  them  was  Adamantios  Koraes,  who  was  the  first 
to  purify  the  Greek  language  and  reduce  it  to  fixed 
rules;  he  familiarised  the  Greeks  with  their  ancient 
literature  and  endeavoured  to  kindle  in  them  the  desire 
to  imitate  the  virtues  of  their  great  forefathers.  Resid- 
ing in  Paris,  he  defended  the  much  calumniated  and 
despised  Greek  nation,  he  promoted  a  better  acquaint- 
ance with  it,  and  prophesied  its  restoration.  Commerce 
and  industry  continued  to  flourish,  and  wealthy  mer- 
chants freely  gave  their  money  to  found  schools,  publish 
books,  and  provide  for  the  wants  of  their  country.  At 
the  same  time  the  three  little  islands  of  Hydra,  Psara, 
and  Spetsa  began  to  form  the  famous  navy  which  after- 
wards in  the  war  of  liberation  became  the  terror  of  the 
Turks  and  the  hope  of  the  Greeks.  At  first  they  only 
carried  on  commerce  between  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
Mediterranean,  but  in  order  to  protect  themselves  against 
the  pirates  of  Tunis  and  Barbary  they  changed  their 
merchant  vessels  into  ships  of  war.  By  this  means  they 
acquired  great  knowledge  of  maritime  warfare,  and 
amassed  large  treasures,  especially  duiing  the  Continental 
system  of  Napoleon. 

All  these  national  powers — the  Church,  scholars, 
Klephts,  primates,  sailors,  and  merchants — laboured 
thoughtfully  and  firmly  to  recover  the  freedom  of  their 
country.    The  man  who  first  endeavoured  to  realise  the 

idea  of  delivering  the  whole  Greek  nation  from  the  yoke 
of  the  Turks,  and  to  unite  its  several  parts,  which  until 
then  had  struggled  individually,  was  the  Thessalian 
lligas  Pherceos.  By  his  fiery  war-songs  he  inspired  the 
Greeks  with  a  burning  love  for  their  country  and  for 
freedom ;  and  in  order  to  show  them  the  whole  extent  of 
the  lands  inhabited  by  their  fathei-s,  he  published  an  atlas 


M 


^^k  f 


"'-'»■'■ 


imimm 


^ 


170 


HISTORY   OP   GIIEECB. 


hf-i^Jin^w'^Hu""""*?^'  ^'"*  ^'^^  tl"*  intention  of 
biinging  before  tiem  the  achievements  and  virtues  of 

"T!^v!r%*°v '  ^^  *^';«J^t«d  from  the  French  the 
J^l^^'f^o^^g^oi^is;"  and  he  even  drew  up 
a  code  of  Ws  which  wer«  to  be  estabUshed  among  Z 
Greeks  and  by  which  they  and  all  the  Christians  of  the 
East  were  to  be  governed  after  their  liberation.    He  gave 

"wf    ?&'''^*S  }t^  subsequent  formation   ^a 

Society  of  Friends "    hetairia)  which  was  to  unite  all 

those  who  were  inspired  with  a  love  of  freedom,  and  111 

Ob  tt  tT^^-  ^  ^''^'^.  themselves  for  the  common 
object,  nis  society  spread  throughout  the  country  and 
nearly  all  Greeks  became  member  of  it.  In  1 797Rk^ 
went  to  Italy  to  come  to  an  understanding  with  Bonamrte 
about  his  great  plan;  but  at  Trieste  he  was  an-esZ  W 
him  to  bT  r^^f^'"^  ^P  to  the  Turks,  who  ordered 

said  "it  O^f"^  f,*  ^'^^^'-  ^'^''^  ^^  d«»th,  he 
said,      riie  Greeks  will  soon  avenge  my  death." 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


171 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

RESTORATION  OP  THE  GREEK  NATION,  FROM  1821  TO  1862. 

EiGAs' generous  exertions  and  his  martyrdom  the  d,i]v 
increasing  enthusiasm  for  the  freedom  of  Greece  wWch 
wa^  stimu  ated  by  the  schools  and  by  the  Church  the 
fheTnt"'%°^*'^t  ^"^"^^  ''"•^  S"'i°*«'  combS\ith 
hatred  o1-"jf-1  '^'?r''^^^  "^  **>«  Turks,  and  he 
led  ^  th!  '^"'t;'l'ty.  cruelty,  and  fanaticism,  at  la^t 

lin  *''^f  <^' '7°l"t.on  which  broke  out  in  the  year 
1821.      The  whole  Greek  nation,  old  and  youn"   and 

rZlvT  -r •  P, "'""'  ''''''  •«  '"^^  ^var-song^saidT "for 
the  holy  faith  m  Christ  and  the  freedom  of  their  country." 


The  revolution  broke  out  simultaneously  in  the  far  north, 
on  the  Danube,  and  in  the  mountains  of  Arkadia  and  La- 
konia.  In  Wallachia,  where,  under  the  protection  of  the 
Greek  princes,  the  Hetairia  had  been  long  and  success- 
fully active,  and  had  organised  the  numerous  Greeks 
residing  in  the  country,  the  noble  and  brave  Alexander 
YpsilantiSj  the  son  of  a  former  prince  of  Wallachia,  pro- 
claimed the  insurrection  of  the  Greek  people.  Young 
men  from  all  parts  of  Greece  assembled  in  the  College  of 
Bucharest,  and,  fired  ^by  the  words  and  examj^le  of 
Georgioa  Gennadios,  took  up  anns  and  formed  themselves 
into  a  "  sacred  band,"  as  the  ancient  Thebans  had  done 
under  Pelopidas  and  Epaminondas.  The  Olympian 
Georgios  (or  Georgakis)  assembled  a  number  of  brave 
warriors  from  Thessaly  and  Epiros.  But  the  cowardice 
and  treachery  of  the  Wallachians,  and  Ypsilantis'  want 
of  military  experience,  enabled  the  Turks  soon  to  stamp 
out  the  insurrection.  All  the  noble  and  well-educated 
young  men  of  the  sacred  band  fell  at  DragatzanL  The 
brave  Georgios,  after  several  desperate  contests,  shut 
himself  up  with  his  followers  in  the  monastery  of 
Sekkon,  and  blew  up  the  building  together  with  himself 

and  the  invading  Turks.  The  vengeance  of  the  Turks 
was  fearful.  All  the  towns  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia 
that  were  inhabited  by  Greeks  were  deluged  in  blood, 
and  at  Constantinople  the  fury  of  the  Turks  was  frantic. 
Sultan  Machmud  II.  resolved  to  exterminate  the  whole 
Greek  nation,  when  he  discovered  a  conspiracy  of  the 
Greeks  at  Constantinople,  which  had  formed  the  plan 
to  bui'n  the  harbour,  kill  the  sultan,  and  take  possession 
of  the  city.  The  massacre  began  with  the  patriarch 
Gregorios,  who  on  Easter  Sunday  was  hanged  on  the  gate 
of  his  palace,  and  whose  body  was  then  dragged  through 
the  stieets  and  thrown  into  the  sea.  All  the  patriarchs 
and  bishops,  and  all  the  primates,  with  thousands  of  other 
citizens,  were  murdered,  and  their  properties  confiscated, 
while  thousands  of  others  were  sent  as  slaves  into  Asia  : 
it  was,  in  fact,  a  renewal  of  the  temble  scenes  enacted  at 
the  taking  of  Constantinople.     Adrianople,  Thessalonike, 


<ii 


"^ 


172 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


173 


Smyrna,  Kyprus,  and  other  places,  had  to  witness  equal 
horrors.  ^ 

In  Greece  proper,  however,  the  insurrection  was  more 
successful.     The  most  influential  Peloponnesians,  on  the 
6th  of  April  182  ,  assembled  in  the  monastery  of  Sancta 
I.aura,   m  Arkadia,  and  took  a  solemn  oath  that  they 
would  die  for  their  country.      There  wa^  Petros  Mawi 
rnichahs,  the  aged  chief  of  Maina,  who  was  joined  by  his 
brothers,  children,  and  grandchildren,  all  equally  renowned 
for  their  valour  and  patriotism ;  there  was  the  most  famous 
warrior  of  Peloponnesus,  Theodoros  Kolokotronis,  the  Odys- 
seus of  modern  Greece,  inexhaustible  in  stratagems,  and 
undaunted  in  danger,  a  man  who,  by  his  brilliant,  popular, 
and  humorous  eloquence,  inspired  the  Peloponnesians  no 
less  than  by  his  heroic  valour;   there  also  were  the  wise 
primates,  Zaimis,  Lontos,  and  Delljlannis,  and  the  Arch- 
bishop  Gerrrmnos,  who  consecrated  the  blue  banner     Two 
mimerous  Turkish  armies,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of 
Albanese,  entered  Peloponnesus  against  the  insurgents. 
One  of  them,  consisting  of  6000  men,  attacked  and  sur- 
rounded a  body  of  1000  Greeks,  commanded  by  Kii-ia- 
kulis  and  Johannes  Mauromichalis.     For  two  days  and 
two  nights  the  Greeks  defended  themselves  manfully 
when  Kolokotronis  arrived  with  his  Arkadians,  and  at 
Yatetsi  completely  defeated  the  Turks,  whose  survivors 

ionn "^T^^  T-'P^^^l-     ^^  '^^  '^"^^  *^«^^»  ^  body  of 
4000  Turks  burst  into  the  eastern  parts  of  Greece  to  crush 

the  insurrection  there.     Seven  hundred  Greeks  occupied 

Theraiopyloe  to  stop  their  progi-ess.      They  were  com- 

manded   by  the  Bishop   of  Amphissa,   and   by  youn- 

Biakos    iovmeAj  a  priest,  who   was   the    most  popula? 

among  the  leaders  on  account  of  his  beauty  no  less  than 

on  account  of  his  bravery  and  poetical  character.     After 

a  most  valiant  resistance,  the  bishop   was   killed,  and 

JJiakos,   covei^d  with  wounds,  was  taken  prisoner   by 

the  Turks  and  cruelly  murdered  (5th  of  May)     It  w^ 

a  bright  sunny  day,  and  when  Diakos  was  taken  to  the 
place  of  execution,  he  exclaimed,  "Lo,  what  a  beautiful 
day  Charon  has  chosen  to  fetch  me,  when  the  flowers 


are  blooming,  and  the  eai'th  has  put  on  her  green  gar- 
ment." 

The  Turks  ravaged  Phokis,  Boeotia,  and  Attika,  but 
in  their  rear  Odysseus,  a  chief  famous  for  his  energy  and 
bravery,  again  rallied  the  scattered  Greeks.  Five  thou- 
sand Turks  advanced  against  him.  Odysseus,  joined  by 
Gui-as,  occupied  Thermopylae  with  1000  men,  and  com- 
pletely overpowered  the  enemy  in  a  bloody  engagement. 

At  last,  on  the  5  th  and  6  th  of  September,  when  the 
whole  of  continental  Greece  rose  in  arms,  a  large  fleet 
proceeded  from  Constantinople  against  the  islands.  The 
Greek  fleet,  consisting  of  ships  chiefly  furnished  by 
Hydra,  Spetsa,  and  Psara,  sailed  out  to  meet  the  enemy. 
Hydra  w^as  governed  by  a  patriotic  aristocracy ;  the 
character  of  its  inhabitants  resembled  that  of  the  ancient 
Spartans,  whom  they  equalled  in  their  pride,  simplicity, 
and  indomitable  bravery.  Having  acquired  great  wealth 
by  their  commerce,  their  honesty,  and  skill,  they  now 
sacrificed  all  their  treasures,  all  their  ships,  and  in  the 
end  even  their  lives,  upon  the  altar  of  their  country. 
During  the  whole  of  the  war  of  liberation,  the  leader 
of  the  Hydriots  was  Lazaros  Kunturiotis,  who  distin- 
guished himself  by  his  good  sense,  his  virtue,  and  deter- 
mination, and  devoted  his  whole  fortime  to  his  country. 
The  Greek  fleet  met  the  far  more  numerous  one  of  the 
Turks  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  island  of  Lesbos,  and 
on  the  8th  of  June  burned  a  Tui-kish  frigate  with  600 
men  on  board,  whereupon  the  Turkish  fleet,  in  great 
terror,  fled  back  to  Constantinople. 

After  these  victories,  the  Greeks  undertook  to  settle 
their  future  government.  A  national  assembly  meeting 
at  Epidauros  drew  up  a  constitution,  declaring  before 
God  and  man  that  the  Greek  peoj)le,  after  having  endured 
a  fearful  martyrdom,  had  determined  by  every  sacrifice 
to  secure  its  independence,  and  to  take  its  place  among 

the  Christian  and  civilised  nations  which  were  indebted 
to  their  forefathers  for  civilisation  and  Christianity. 

The  next  year  Turkey  made  the  greatest  exertions  to 
ciiish  the  insurrection.      Forty  thousand  men,  selected 


I 


174 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


from  all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  commanded  by  Drari 
Ah  penetrated  into  Peloponnesus  to  relieve  the  fortress 
ot  Nauplm,  which  was  besieged  by  the  Greeks.  The 
position  of  the  latter  yas  dangerous.  Mauromichalis  and 
Vemetnos  Ypsilantis  (the  brave  and  excellent  brother  of 

MvIWM-^n  r"P'''*.*^'  ^^^vo^^li^  of  ^rgos  and  the 
MyliB  (Mills)  m  order  to  give  Kolokotrouis  time  to 
*'!r,  ^An^'^  Peloponnesians.      The  latter  soon  arrived 

forther  into  Peloponnesus,  soon  discovered  that  from 
want  of  provisions  and  of  water,  they  could  not  remain 
any  onger  m  the  plain  of  Argos,  and  therefore  resoTved 

having  occupied  the  mountain  passes,  fell  upon  the  Turks 
and  annihdated  nearly  the  whole  of  theh-  army  •  the 
remainder  escaped  to  Korinth.  That  glorious  victoi  v 
which  reminds  us  of  that  of  Plafee»,  was  due  to  the 
military  skill  of  Kolokotrouis,  and  to  the  vllour  of 
Niketaa,  who  from  that  time  bore  the  surname  of  "the 

irZan  of^^r,'^"  (^T'^-'Pl^'^SH  but  who.  withll 
was  a  man  of  child-like  gentleness. 

fint.u*^l*^''-r^^JJ  ^^  '"™y  ^^  «"'  »»'  fro"i  Constan- 
tinople, the  united  fleets  of  Turkey,  Egypt,  and  Barbaiv 

sai  ed  from  Const^ntiiiople  against  Vhe  G^lLk  island"  an  J 

in  the  mon  h  of  April  they  arrived  at  the  beautiful,  rich 

but  unwarfike  island  of  Chios.     The  Turks  threw  tS 

fllTnfT''  *^«  ""^Wy  islanders  like  wolves  upon  a 
flock  of  sheep.  For  many  days  the  island  was  the  scene 
Ot  an  indiscnmrnate  massacre,  of  violence,  and  bumin" 
Thousands  of  men  and  women  were  sent  t^  the  marW^ 
of  Egypt  and  Asia  to  be  sold  a.  slaves.  When  t^e  news 
of  these  terrible  proceedings  became  known,  the  Hydriors 
together  with  the  Spetsiots  and  Psariots,  got  their  fleets 
ready  with  the  greatest  haste.     The  admiill  in  comma^ 

commander  of  Greece,  an  iron  man  who  never  smiled  and 
never  wept  whose  superiority  was  acknowle<  Jbv^ 
and  who,  after  his  victories,  retired  as  a  simple  cLe u 
mto  the  bosom  of  his  family.     By  bis  expe  ien^  and 


HISTOEY    OF    GREECE. 


175 


boldness  he  kept  in  check  the  gigantic  fleet  of  Turkey. 
On  the  night  of  the  6th  of  June,  a  young  Psariot  hero, 
Konstantinos  Kanarisy  sailed  out  in  a  small  barge  with 
thirty-three  men,  and  setting  fire  to  a  large  Turkish  fri- 
gate, blew  it  up,  with  all  on  board.  More  than  2000 
Turks  with  their  admiral  thus  perished  in  the  waters  of 
the  island  of  Chios,  which  they  had  saturated  with  the 
blood  of  innocent  men  and  women.  The  terror  of  the 
Turks  was  so  great  that  they  fled  before  the  small  Greek 
fleet,  and  although  reiaforced  by  a  fresh  Egyptian  arma- 
ment to  relieve  Nauplia,  they  sailed  past  that  fortress 
from  fear  of  the  Greek  fleet.  Nauplia,  thus  abandoned, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Greeks  (12th  December).  The 
Turkish  fleet,  on  its  arrival  at  Tenedos,  was  overtaken 
by  a  violent  storm,  and  having  lost,  through  a  device  of 
the  Greeks,  one  frigate,  with  1 600  men,  the  whole  armada 
hastened  back  to  Constantinople. 

Meanwhile  the  Suliots,  who,  after  the  loss  of  their 
country,  had  settled  in  the  Ionian  islands,  had  returned 
to  their  moimtains  as  early  as  the  year  1820,  and  now 
renewed  their  hostility  against  the  Turks,  whose  attacks 
on  their  mountain  fastnesses  they  always  successfully 
repelled.  In  the  year  1822,  Alexander  Maurokordatos 
was  governor-general  of  the  southern  part  of  continental 
Greece.  He  was  as  distinguished  for  his  statesmanship 
as  for  enlightened  patriotism ;  and  perceiving  the  impor- 
tance of  Messolonghi,  he  established  himself  there,  and 
gave  to  Akamania  and  -^tolia  a  military  organisation. 
Maurokordatos,  with  about  2500  men,  proceeded  north- 
ward to  support  the  Suliots,  but  in  Epiros  the  Greeks 
were  surrounded  by  a  body  of  Turks  four  times  more 
numerous  than  themselves,  and  after  an  obstinate  fight 
and  great  losses,  were  compelled  to  retreat.  Many  PhU- 
hellenes,  and  among  them  the  German  general,  Normann, 
fell.  Kyriakulis  Mauromichalis,  who,  with  a  body  of 
men  from  Maina  and  Arkadia,  had  advanced  into  Epiros, 
likewise  lost  his  life  after  a  brave  but  unsuccessful  fight. 
Thus  all  the  Turkish  forces  were  directed  against  tho 
Suliots,  who,  after  a  bi-ave  resistance,  finding  themselves 


176 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


Without  ammunition  and  provisions,  were  compelled  again 
to  leave  their  mountains,  and  to  seek  a  new  home  in 
Kephalonia,  whence  soon  afterwards  they  proceeded  to 
Messolonghi     All  the  Turkish  forces  were  now  directed 
against  that  place.     But  Maurokordatos  and  its  inhabi- 
tants were  resolved  to  die  or  to  conquer,  for  they  well 
knew  that  the  place  was  the  greatest  stronghold  of  Pelo- 
ponnesus.     There  were  scarcely  350  men  in  the  town, 
and  their  only  means  of  defence  consisted  of  fourteen  old 
pieces  of  artillery ;  the  walls  were  weak  and  old,  and  the 
lurkish  fleet  was  blockading  the  place.     MaurokWatos, 
m  order  to  gam  time,  deceived  the  Turks  by  feigned 
negotiations,  until  Hydriot  ships  arrived  and  forced  the 
Turks  to  give  up  the  blockade  j  at  the  same  time  help 
came  from  Akamania,  ^tolia,  and  other  parts.     When 
the  Turks,  on  the  6th  of  January  1823,  attempted  to 
storm  the  place,  they  were  gloriously  beaten  back,  and  in 
their  flight  sustained  great  losses,  as  they  were  pursued 
by  the  Greeks. 

In  the  year  1823,  the  sultan  sent  a  formidable  army 
ot  Albanese,  with  orders  to  take  Messolonghi,  the  key 
to   Peloponnesus.      The    little    town,   in   spite   of    the 
heroism  of  its   inhabitants,   would    scarcely  have    been 
able  to  defend  itself,  had  it  not  been  for  the  presence 
ot    Markos    Bozzaris,    the    most    glorious    hero    of  the 
trreek  Revolution,  and  the  descendant   of  an  ancient 
feuliot  family.      At  the  head  of  1200  Suliots,  who  had 
come  from  Kephalonia,  he  formed  the  bold  resolution  to 
attack  the  advancing  barbarians.     Accompanied  by  350 
men    forming  the  centre  of  his  little  army,  he  assailed 
the  lurkish  camp  during  the  night,  and  drove  the  terri- 
fied  enemies   from   their  fortified   position.       Bozzaris, 
though   severely  wounded,   continued   to   fight   until   a 
bullet  struck  him  in  the  forehead.     The  struggle,  how- 
ever, continued.     When  the  morning  dawned,  the  Suliots, 
overwhelmed  with  grief  at  the  death  of  their  beloved 
leader,  left  the  field  of  battle,  carrying  with  them  the 
body  of  the  hero.     The  victory  was  dearly  bought;  and 
tlie  death  of  Bozzaris  spread  sorrow  and  consternation 


177 


throughout  Greece.  Six  months  later,  on  the  19  th  of 
April  1824,  another  piece  of  sad  news  filled  all  Greece 
with  pain  and  sorrow,  for  the  illustrious  poet.  Lord 
Byron,  who,  like  many  other  enthusiasts  for  the  emanci- 
pation of  Greece,  had  gone  to  assist  that  country  in  its 
struggles  for  freedom.  He  had  formed,  at  his  own  ex- 
pense, a  corps  of  Suliots,  with  whom  he  was  resolved  to 
fight  for  the  liberation  of  Greece,  when  death  overtook 
him.  This  calamity  filled  the  minds  of  all  the  Greeks 
with  even  greater  sorrow  than  any  of  the  many  misfor- 
tunes that  had  previously  befallen  them. 

Meanwhile  a  body  of  15,000  Tui'ks  appeared  before 
Messolonghi,  and  attacked  the  island  of  Anatolikon,  but 
the  valour  of  the  besieged,  their  sallies,  the  approach  of 
winter,  and  the  terror  with  which  the  fame  of  Bozzaris 
had  filled  them,  obliged  the  Tui^ks  to  retreat. 

After  so  many  and  fniitless  efibrts  to  put  down  the 
Greek  rebellion,  the  sultan  applied  for  assistance  to 
Mehemet,  the  pasha  of  Egypt.  The  latter,  who  had 
raised  himself  from  the  position  of  a  common  soldier  to 
the  governorship  of  Egypt,  was  a  man  of  great  ability, 
and  had  formed  large  land  and  naval  forces,  officered 
chiefly  by  Europeans,  who  had  been  attracted  by  his 
treasures,  and  had  trained  his  armies.  In  order  to  insure 
his  co-operation  in  the  subjugation  of  Greece,  the  sultan 
gave  him  the  island  of  Krete,  which  from  the  beginning 
of  the  revolution  had  supported  the  cause  of  freedom, 
imtil  about  the  end  of  the  year  1823  it  was  reduced  to 
submission  by  Mehemet,  whose  son  Ibrahim  was  now 
appointed  governor-general  of  Peloponnesus,  with  orders 
to  reconquer  the  peninsula  for  Turkey.  A  large  Egyptian 
fleet  (July  1824)  then  attacked  the  little  island  of  Kasos, 
whose  brave  inhabitants  had  boldly  and  vigorously  sup- 
ported the  Kretans;  and  after  a  brief  but  desperate 
resistance  the  Kasians  were  partly  massacred  and  partly 
sent  as  slaves  into  Egypt.  Meanwhile  a  Turkish  fleet  of 
200  sail  appeared  before  the  little  island  of  Psara,  the 
boldness  of  whose  inhabitants  had  specially  roused  the 
anger  of  the  sultan.     The  Psariots  had  fortified  their 


I  I 


M  ■ 


^ 


178 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


island    and  had  received  a  thousand  auxiliaries  from 
Macedonia.     Relying  too  much  upon  these  advantasjes, 
instead  of  preventing  the  Turks  from  effecting  a  landbicr 
they  resolved  to  fight  the  enemy  on  land,  and  though 
they  displayed  then-  usual  heroism,  they  were  obliged  to 
?nn  n^  s«P«nor  numbers.     Some  of  them,  together  with 
600  Maeedonians,  fortified  themselves  in  the  monastery  of 
-N^f  olaos     After  a  desperate  fight  of  two  days,  scarcely 
one-third  of  their  number  survived,  and  even  these  were 
nearly  all  woimded.     Then  they  formed  one  of  those  bold 
resolutions  which  we  so  often  hear  of  in  this  war      Thev 
ceased  firing,  and  allowed  the  Turks  to  enter  the  monas- 
tery;   and  when  the  building  was  filled  with  enemies, 
the  whole  structure  was  blown  up,  amid  hurrahs  for 
freedom  and  fatheriand.     All  the  Greeks  perished,  but 
with  them  4000  Turks.     The  rage  of  the%nemy  was 
teartul :  thousands  of  men  were  captured,  and  sent  to  the 
slave  markets,  and  many  mothers  with  their  children 
threw  themselves  into  the  sea,  in  order  not  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  Tiu-ks.     A  few  thousands  of  the  sur- 
vivors  sought  and  found  refuge  in  caves  and  mountains. 
The  Greek  fleet  had  not  been  able  to  prevent  these  un- 
lortunate  occurrences,  because  the  inhabitants  of  Hydra 
and  Spezza,  who  had  generously  equipped  the  ships  out  of 
their  own  means,  had  come  to  the  end  of  their  resources, 
^ut  the  misfortune  of  Psara  roused  them  to  fresh  efforts- 
they  got  ready  a  fleet  under  Georgios  Sachturis,  next  to 
Miaulis,  the  greatest  admiral.      The  Turkish  fleet  was 
then   making   preparations  for  attacking  the  island  of 

^!T;i.    ^"^  •  *r''  ^""^  "^^m^"  ^^"  ^"^^  P"T>««^  stationed 
near  the  Asiatic  coast.     The  Greek  fleet,  reinforced  by 

the  surviving  Psanots  and  Kanaris,  sailed  against  them 
and  near  Mount  Mykale  the  Greeks  fought  wree  naval 
battles  m  which,  though  inferior  in  numbers,  thev  re- 
peatedly defeated  the  Turks.  Several  of  the  enemv's 
ships  were  burned,  with  their  crews.  The  large  Turkish 
army  encamped  upon  the  Asiatic  coast,  terrified  by  these 
repeated  defeats,  ^dthdrew  to  Halikarna^sos,  intendfn^ 
to  join  the  great  Egyptian  fleet.     Miaulis,  united  with 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


179 


Sachturis,  sailed  against  them,  and  with  his  small  fleet 
was  determined  to  keep  in  check  the  enormous  forces 
of  the  enemy.  Three  times  he  defeated  them,  burned 
several  of  their  ships,  compelled  them  to  retreat  to  Mity- 
lene,  and  continued  to  harass  them  till  nearly  the  end  of 
the  year,  when  the  Turkish  fleet  fled  to  the  Hellespont 
and  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  The  aged  hero  Miaulis, 
crowned  with  glory,  and  as  modest  as  ever,  withdrew  in 
tsilence  to  his  home.  The  military  operations  of  the 
Turks  in  continental  Greece  were  equally  unsuccessful 
during  this  year. 

In  the  next  year  (1825),  however,  Ibrahim  Pasha  at 
length  succeeded  in  throwing  himself  into  Peloponnesus 
at  the  head  of  an  excellent  and  numerous  army,  which 
was  commanded  by  European  officers.  He  laid  siege  to 
Pylos,  and  in  order  to  facilitate  his  operations,  attacked 
the  little  island  of  Sphakteria.  Fifty-two  Egyptian  ships 
forced  their  entrance  into  the  harbour,  which  was  occu- 
pied by  only  eight  Greek  ships,  commanded  by  the  brave 
Hydriot  Tsamados.  On  the  8th  of  May  the  Egyptians 
threw  a  numerous  body  of  their  forces  into  the  island, 
while  their  ships  of  the  line  were  ready  to  defend  them- 
selves against  Miaulis,  who  was  prevented  by  contrary 
winds  from  attacking  them.  Nearly  all  the  men  who 
formed  the  Greek  garrison  of  the  island  were  killed. 
Sachturis  and  Maurokordatos  made  their  escape,  and 
seven  of  the  eight  Greek  ships,  supported  by  favourable 
wind,  forced  their  way  through  the  enemy's  fleet.  The 
other  ship,  ^^ Athena"  remained  to  save  its  captain, 
Tsamados ;  but  when  the  men  learned  that  he  was  dead, 
they,  led  on  by  Sachturis,  determined  to  force  their  way 
through  the  whole  of  the  Egyptian  fleet  stationed  at  the 
entrance  of  the  harbour.  The  brave  crew  was  deter- 
mined either  to  save  themselves  or  to  blow  up  the  ship ; 
but  by  skilful  and  quick  manoeuvres  the  "Athena,"  after 
a  fight  of  six  hours,  succeeded  in  breaking  through  the 
opposing  lines.  A  few  days  later,  Miaulis  avenged  the 
fall  of  Sphakteria,  by  burning  twenty  Egyptian  ships  in 
the  port  of  Methone. 


180 


HISTORY  OF  GREECE. 


Meanwhile  the  Turkish  fleet  returned  from  the  Helles- 
pont,  to  attack  Messolonghi  Sachturis  sailed  out,  and 
met  It  between  the  islands  of  Eubcea  and  Andros  and 
completely  defeated  it,  taking  all  theii-  tmnsports.  '  l^e 
Tm-kish  fleet  then  dispersed.  But  in  Peloponnesus 
Ibrahun  was  successful  with  his  numerous  armyf  he  took 
ir-ylos,  and  i-avaged  Messenia  with  fire  and  sword  ;  and 
whUe  this  was  going  on,  the  Messenian,  Dikaios,  resolved 
to  revive  the  courage  of  the  Peloponnesians.  He  selected 
COO  men,  who  were  ready  to  die,  and  gave  notice  to  the 
government  at  Nauplia  of  his  resolution,  telling  his 
countrymen  that  they  could  save  their  country  only  by 

W    f  !!?« '5^^?  ^'  f."y  *™®  *°  «««"«<=«  tbeir  lives  for  it 
He  fortihed  himself  with  his  smaU  band  at  Maniaki.  in 
Arkadia,   and   there   awaited   the  an-ival  of  the  whole 
Egyptian   army       After  a  heroic  fight,   which  lasted 
a   whole   day,    he   and  all  his   companions   fell,  as  the 
^00  Spartans  and  Leonidas  had  fallen  at  Thermopylae 
Ibrahim  contmued  the  conquest  of  the  country,  amidst 
daughter  and  devastation,  and  sent  his  prisoners  into 
Jigypt.     Suddenly  he  advanced  into  the  plain  of  Argos 
intending  to  teke  possession  of  the  MUls  near  LeL; 
which  contained  all  the  provisions  of  the  Greeks.     But 
tr^^A  ^.o^ient  Ypsilantis,  with  227  bmve  followers, 
fortified  himself  there,  resolved  at  all  hazards  to  maintaii^ 
that  important  place.     His  daring  audacity  was  success- 
ful   the  Egyptians  were  repelled  with  great  loss,  and 
Ibr^im  retui-ned  to  Tripolis.     The  aged  Kolokotionis, 
the  only  man  capable  of  protecting  Peloponnesus  against 
the  enemy,  assembled  10,000  men,  the  largest  force  that 
had  until   then   been   collected,   and  marched   towards 
Tnpohs  to  attack  Ibrahim.    The  two  annies  met  in  July, 
near  Tiikorpha.     The  fiery  but  inconsiderate  impetuosity 
ot  a  Orreek  corps,  which,  contrary  to  the  ordera  of  the 
comxnander    pursued  the  Egyptians  too  far,  threw  the 
trreek  ranks  into  disorder,  spreading  gradually  through- 
out the  Greek  army,  which,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  its 
leader,  was  completely  defeated :  400  fell,  800  were  taken 
prisoners,  and  afterwai-da  either  slaughtered  or  sold  aa 


HlSrORY  OF  GREECE. 


181 


slaves.  IbraMiii  now  again  ravaged  Messenia,  Lakonia, 
and  Arkadia,  and  sent  all  his  prisoners  as  slaves  into  Egypt. 
Kolokotronis  again  rallied  the  remains  of  his  army,  but 
did  not  venture  upon  a  decisive  battle.  He  followed 
Ibrahim,  repeatedly  attacked  him,  and  then  retreated 
into  the  mountains. 

The  success  of  Ibrahim  in  Peloponnesus  induced  the 
sultan  to  venture  upon  a  final  attack  on  Messolonghi.  This 
task  was  enti-usted  to  Reshid  Mechmet  Paslm,  the  greatest 
general  of  the  Turks,  who,  with  an  army  of  20,000  men, 
undertook  the  siege  of  the  fortress.  After  the  last  siege 
which  that  small  fortress  had  sustained,  the  fortifications 
had  been  somewhat  improved ;  but  its  whole  artillery  con- 
sisted of  forty  iron  guns,  which  were  for  the  most  part 
useless.  Its  best  defence  was  its  garrison,  consisting  of 
5000  men,  among  whom  were  the  bravest  chiefs  of  Suli, 
Epiros,  Thessaly,  and  Akarnania.  All  were  under  the 
supreme  command  of  Notis  Bozzaris,  the  uncle  of  Markos, 
who  was  then  seventy  years  old.  The  besiegers  were  soon 
reinforced  by  a  large  Turkish  fleet.  The  fii-st  two  attacks  of 
the  Turks  were  gloriously  repelled,  and  the  Turkish  fleet 
was  put  to  flight  by  Miaulis  and  Sachturis.  The  city  had 
already  begun  to  suffer  from  famine,  but  provisions  could 
now  be  introduced,  and  a  few  days  later  a  body  of  1000 
men,  sword  in  hand,  sallied  forth  in  the  night,  attacked 
tlie  Turks,  and  after  causing  a  fearful  massacre  among 
tliem,  returned  to  the  foi'tress  with  booty,  standaixis,  and 

prisonei-s. 

During  five  months  the  Turks  made  incredible  efibrts 
to  take  Messolonghi  by  assault,  and  the  Greeks  made 
equal  eflforts  to  prevent  it.  Although  suffering  from 
famine  and  disease,  they  made  the  proud  Eeshid  almost 
despair  by  their  bold  and  well-managed  sallies.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  following  year  he  was  joined  by  Ibrahim, 
with  10,000  well -disciplined  troops  and  a  fonnidable  body 
of  artillery,  llelying  upon  his  superior  force,  Ibrahim 
called  upon  the  parties  to  surrender  (January  1826). 
'J'lie  Messolonghites,  tliough  their  position  was  hopeless, 
treated  the  demand  with  contempt.     The  whole  countiy 


182 


HISTORY   OF  GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


183 


round  about  was  covered  by  the  Turkish  and  Egyptian 
armies,  and  the  sea  was  crowded  by  the  enemy's  fleet. 
Within  the  city  famine  and  disease  had  already  carried 
off  1500  of  its  defenders,  and  half  of  the  fortress  itself 
was  already  in  ruins.     At  this  critical  moment,  Miaulis 
arrived  with  his  fleet,  and  on  two  successive  days  defeated 
the  Turks.     The  blockade  of  Messolonghi  was  thus  broken, 
and  provisions  for  two  months  were  introduced,  where- 
upon Miaulis  returned  to  Hydra  to  take  further  measures. 
Ibrahim  and  Reshid,  after  long  preparations,  now  attempted 
to  storm  the  place.     After  firing  for  two  whole  days, 
they  gamed,  on  the  third,  the  possession  of  one  fort, 
which,  however,  was  retaken  by  the  Greeks  on  the  fourth. 
The  two  pashas  endeavoured  to  continue  the  assault,  but 
their  troops  were  demoralised,  and  had  literally  to  be 
forced  to  fight.     The  Turks,  now  despairing  of  the  possi- 
bility of  taking  the  town  by  assault,  resolved  to  continue 
the  bombardment.     They  took  possession  of  three  small 
islands  m  front  of  Messolonghi.     A  fourth,  called  Klei- 
sova,  was  attacked  by  Reshid.     Its  gan-ison,  which  had 
fortified  Itself  in  a  monastery,  was  commanded  by  Kitsos 
Tsavelas  and  130  Suliots.     Reshid,  after  a  hot  contest, 
was  wounded  and  repelled.     Ibrahim  had  no  idea  of  the 
bravery  displayed  by  the  Greeks,  and  when  Reshid  was 
blamed  for  his  defeat,  he  said  to  Ibrahim,  «  They  are  not 
men,  they  are  devils;  go  and  see  yourself."   Butlbi-ahim 
himself  was  soon  obliged  to  retreat.     Tsavelas  then  fell 
upon  the  Egyptians,  and  made  such  havoc  among  them 
that  upwards  of  1000  Turkish  and  Egyptian  corpses  for 
a  long  time  floated  in  the  shallow  waters,  and  poisoned 
the  atmosphere. 

Meanwhile  famine  and  diseases  decimated  the  Messo- 
longhites.  Rations  could  no  longer  be  given,  and  the 
destruction  of  houses  within  the  town  continued.  Miaulis 
and  his  fleet  were  the  only  hope.  The  patriotic  Hydriots, 
who  for  five  years,  with  unexamj^led  generosity,  had 
maintained  a  fleet,  had  become  impoverished,  and  the 
government  at  Nauplia  had  no  money.  Still  a  fresh  fleet 
was  fonned,  under  the  old  admiiul,  though  the  ships  were 


very  feebly  manned,  some  of  them  having  scarcely  twenty 
men  on  board.  Miaulis  met  the  combined  fleets  of  the 
enemy  near  Cape  Araxos,  and  notwithstanding  their 
immensely  superior  forces,  he  resolutely  and  boldly 
ventured  upon  a  battle.  The  engagement  remained 
without  any  decisive  result,  but  the  brave  admii^al  in- 
cessantly harassed  the  enemy  by  small  skirmishes,  and 
endeavoured  by  every  means,  though  in  vain,  to  intro- 
duce provisions  into  Messolonghi.  At  last  the  desperate 
condition  of  the  Messolonghites  determined  the  iron 
admiral  to  risk  everything,  and  to  break  through  the 
blockading  force,  when  the  terrible  news  of  the  fall  of 
Messolonghi  broke  his  heart. 

The  sufierings  of  every  kind  had  risen  in  the  city  to 
the  highest  point.     For  twenty  days  the  chief  articles  of 
food  had  been  seaweeds  and  the  leather  of  theii'  shoes, 
w  hich,  softened  by  a  little  oil,  was  regarded  as  a  delicacy. 
Diseases  raged,   and  no  medical  assistance  was  to  be 
obtained.       In    the    streets,   covered   with   ruins,    there 
were  seen  lying  old  and  young,  men  and  women,  sick, 
famished,  or  dead.     Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  people 
had  to   watch    night  and    day  to    repel    the    enemy's 
attacks.      Ibrahim,   who    knew    the   condition  of   the 
place,    repeated    his    demand    to    surrender.       But   the 
heroic    defender    contemptuously   rejected    every  pro- 
posal.    The  leading  men,  however,  saw  that  the  defence 
must  come  to  an  end,  as  in  three  or  four  days  the  whole 
population  would  be  carried  off  by  famine.      It  was  re- 
solved, therefore,  to  make  a  sortie,  and  to  save  as  much 
as  possible.     Out  of  3000  men  the  bravest  warriors  were 
selected,  who,  on  the  night  of  the  2  2d  of  April,  were  to 
force  a  passage,  sword  in  hand,  through  the  whole  hostile 
army.     This  daring  plan  might  have  succeeded  had  it  not 
been  betrayed  by  a  Bulgarian  to  Ibrahim,  who  imme- 
diately took  measures  to  prevent  the  escape  of  that  daring 
band.     When  the  moment  aiTived,  the  Greeks  best  able 
to  fight  took  the  lead,  being  followed  by  all  the  yoimg 
men  in  arms.     All  the  women  were  armed,  and  disguised 
as  men,  carrying  a  sword  in  their  right  hand,  and  their 


\\ 


■~T 


184 


HISTOKY  OF  GKEECE. 


mfante  m  their  left,  or  fastened  to  their  backs.  They 
were  followed  by  the  old  men  and  women,  and  children, 
binder  the  protection  of  a  body  of  soldiers  forming  the 
rear.  A  number  of  others,  unable  to  follow  them,  either 
from  age  or  disease  or  unwilling  to  leave  their  beloved 
homes  and  the  tombs  of  their  ancestors,  remained  behind. 
Ihey  a  1  assembled  near  a  powder  magazine,  and  calmly 
awaited  the  end  Those  who  were  tS  sally  forth  we 
waiting  for  the  signal  which  was  to  be  given  to  thelTy 
ttl  '  ^^P^-^*^  to  come  to  their  rescue.    Ibi-ahim, 

V.  ho  knew  everything,  directed  his  fire  against  them.  For 
hours  the  valiant  body  of  Greeks  remained  immovable! 
^Tv°tt  h 'nT\''V^^  ^^^"^  expectation  of  succoiS 
withnnt     w        f  ,*'  !"'°'y-    ^°  «'g^l  «^me  from 

G  .^r,  .  ^''"  '''>''  ^^^  "'°°"  ^'^'  ^"^d  enabled  the 
Orieeks  to  survey  the  masses  of  Turks  and  E-ryntiana 
ready  to  receive  them,  a  thundering  voice  3  out! 
Forward  !  forward !  death  to  the  barbarians ! »  With 
unon  trr^TT^^  the  vanguard  of  the  Greeks  rushed 
upon  the  fortifications  of  the  enemy.  Nothing  was  able 
to  stop  their  progress,  and  a  broad  way  w^  opened 
through  the  midst  of  the  terrified  Tm-ks  and  Egy?,C 

mto  the  town   "  and  a  great  number  were  driven  baek 

them,  cutting  down  every  one  they  met.  Fearful  scenes 
were  now  enacted,  which  lasted  the  whole  night  Tn 
every  street  and  in  eveiy  house  those  who  had  remained 

KnT  "T'^*  ^'^.  V^^  ^"""'g^  °f  despair,  anSny 
Wew  up  themselves  and  the  enemy  by  means  ^f  powder 
When  a  numerous  body  of  the  enemy  broke  iX  the 
powder  magazine,  where  most  of  the  aged  and  womid^ 
were  assembled,  the  aged  Kapsalis  set  fire  to  it  3  i^ 

ZZ\^n  "P  ,*r*";  ^'^^  "-*  mo™4  M  'soTongM 
were  bSd"'.  "t^  "^  """T' ''"°"°  "^"<=^  ^000  Greeks 
Temies         '      °  ^'^^  '"^"^  thoimnds  of  their 

thSwav^^J."  ''^/l^od  thevang„a.-d  in  the  sally  forecd 
theu  way  through  the  enemy  with  indescribable  difficul- 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


185 


ties,  being  attacked  on  all  sides.  But  tKeir  assailants 
had  to  pay  dearly  for  it.  When  at  last  they  arrived  at 
Mount  Zygos,  they  imagined  they  were  in  safety;  but 
they  were  now  attacked  by  a  body  of  Albanese,  and  a 
teiTible  battle  ensued.  Many  of  the  women,  who  had 
become  unable  to  fight,  begged  their  husbands  to  kill  them, 
that  they  might  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks. 
At  last  they  were  met  by  a  body  of  300  Greeks,  who 
came  to  their  assistance,  and  with  their  help  they  routed 
the  Albanese,  and  thus  at  last  gained  some  breathing 
time.  The  country  through  which  they  pursued  their 
course  had  been  completely  devastated ;  no  food  was  to 
be  found,  and  danger  on  all  sides.  Many  died  of  hunger, 
fatigue,  and  wounds.  When  at  last  they  arrived  at 
Amphissa,  they  found  rest  and  kindly  treatment  from 
their  countrymen;  but  the  number  of  those  who  had 
thus  escaped  amounted  to  only  1800.  Of  the  Messo- 
longhites  it  may  be  truly  said  that  every  one  of  their 
warriors  was  a  hero  and  a  martyr. 

The  fall  of  Messolonghi  filled  all  Greece  with  sorrow 
and  despair.  The  government  at  Nauplia  was  helpless. 
Brave  men  from  all  parts  of  Greece,  and  especially  the 
defenders  of  Messolonghi,  assembled  there.  But  they 
had  neither  money  nor  an  army,  and  an  epidemic  was 
raging  in  the  devastated  country.    All  confidence  had 

disappeared,  and  the  distress  was  terrible  and  universal ; 
while  Ibrahim,  who  had  returned  from  Messolonghi,  and 
was  devastating  Peloponnesus,  was  daily  expected  before 
Nauplia.  In  the  meantime,  Reshid  Pasha  was  march- 
ing against  Athens,  the  only  important  city  of  continental 
Greece.  But  what  was  worse  than  all  was  the  discord 
among  the  Greeks  themselves,  which  for  some  time  ha<l 
already  done  much  mischief,  but  had  now  reached  at 
Nauplia  its  highest  point.  In  these  circumstances, 
Gcorgios  Gennadios  called  together  the  men  in  the  public 
square  of  Nauplia,  described  to  them  in  heart-stinnng 
words  the  condition  of  their  country,  telling  them  that 
the  curse  of  their  ancestors,  as  well  as  of  their  wives  and 
childi-en,  and  the  contempt  of  the  world,  would  be  upon 


I 


186 


HISTORY   OP  GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


187 


them,  if  ihey  did  not  make  a  last  effoi-t.     He  summoned 
the  wives  and  children,  who,  beaiing  the  cross  in  their 
hands,  implored  their  husbands,  on  their  knees,  rather  to 
kill  them  with  their  own  hands  than  let  them  fall  into  the 
power  of  the  barbarians.     The  men  were  filed  with  fresh 
enthusiasm,  and  took  a  solemn  oath  to  conquer  or  to  die 
for  their  country.     Every  one  was  ready  to  sacrifice  all  he 
had  for  the  good  of  his  countiymen.    All  the  horses  were 
voluntarily  oflered,  and  a  cavalry  was  formed  to  defend 
Nauplia  against  the  Egyptians.     The  aged  Kolokotronia 
skilfully  directed  everywhere  a  guerilla  warfare,  not  ven- 
turing upon  any  battle,  but  constantly  attacking  ani 
harassing  the  Egyptians.      The  inhabitants  of  the  open 
country  took  refuge  in  the  mountains,  or  in  caves,  or  in 
strong  places,  abandoning  their  coimtry  to  the  fury  of 
the  enemy,  who  was  devastating  it  with  fire  and  sword. 
The  inhabitants  of  Maina,  women  as  well  as  men,  repelled 
a  vigorous  attack  by  Ibrahim,  and  inflicted  severe  losses 
upon  him. 

Georgios  KaraisJcahis,  who  in  a  short  time  had  acquired 
the  reputation  of  the  greatest  general  of  the  revolution, 
was  sent  as  commander-in-chief  of  continental  Greece 
against  Reshid  Pasha.  He  had  formed  the  great  and 
bold  plan  of  driving  the  Turks  out  of  Europe  altogether. 
Reshid  had  besieged  and  bombarded  Athens,  and  in  spite 
of  the  bi-ave  resistance  of  its  inhabitants,  had  become 
master  of  the  city,  and  was  blockading  the  akropolis, 
which  was  defended  by  the  brave  GuraSy  with  570  men. 
Karaiskakis,  who  set  out  from  Nauplia  with  600  men, 
increased  his  army  at  Eleusis  to  3500,  among  whom  the 
surviving  defenders  of  Messolonghi  distinguished  them- 
selves. Twice  he  defeated  detachments  of  Reshid's  forces, 
and  captured  nearly  all  the  cattle  and  beasts  of  burden  of 
his  army.  He  now  organised  the  resistance  of  the  akro- 
polis, and  formed  a  grand  plan  of  operations,  by  which 
he  hoped  to  surround  Reshid  in  the  })lain  of  Athens. 
The  latter,  in  order  to  gain  possession  of  the  akropolis, 
began  a  fearful  cannonade  in  the  night  of  the  18th  of 
October,  during  which  a  portion  of  the  Erechtheion  \yi\a 


destroyed;  but  he  was  repulsed  with  gieat  loss.  Tho 
garrison,  which  had  been  much  weakened,  was  now  rein- 
forced by  Karaiskakis,  with  450  warriors,  who,  under  the 
guidance  of  two  of  his  bold  adjutants,  succeeded  in  the 
night  in  making  their  way  into  the  akropolis.  Reshid's 
operations  were  constantly  fnistrated  by  the  besieged. 
But  the  small  garrison  also  was  daily  diminished,  and 
was  beginning  to  feel  the  want  of  ammunition,  when  the 
brave  French  colonel,'i^a62?/er,  a  distinguished  Philhellene, 
introduced  650  Greek  soldiers.  This  was  efiected  in  the 
night  with  gi^eat  boldness  and  order.    Even  before  this, 

Karaiskakis,  after  fortifying  Eleusis  and  Salamis,  had 
entered  Boeotia,  with  a  view  of  caiTying  out  his  great 
plan.  He  everywhere  drove  the  Turks  before  him,  and 
by  quick  and  well-arranged  movements  he  surrounded, 
near  Arachova,  a  body  of  1500  of  the  best  Albanese 
troops,  who  were  intended  as  a  reinforcement  for  Reshid, 
and  completely  annihilated  them.  Rich  booty  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Greeks  on  this  occasion.  Thence  he 
hastened  to  Thermopylae,  and  there  captured  all  the  stores 
of  provisions  which  were  on  their  way  to  Reshid.  Im- 
mediately after  this  he  hastened  to  -^tolia,  Phokis,  and 
Livadia,  everywhere  chasing  the  Turks  before  him,  and 
everywhere  occupying  the  most  important  places,  and 
thus  forming  a  semicircle  in  the  rear  of  Reshid.  He  then 
returned,  with  1000  men,  to  the  coast  of  Salamis,  in  order 
to  carry  out  his  plan.  Even  before  his  arrival,  the  govern- 
ment had  assembled  6000  men  in  Peirseeus  and  Phaleron 
(February  1827) ;  but  this  force,  in  the  absence  of  Kar- 
aiskakis, had  always  been  very  unsuccessful  against  Reshid. 
The  latter  soon  after  attacked  Karaiskakis,  but  was  re- 
pulsed. The  Greek  army  in  Attika  was  soon  increased 
to  10,000  men.  In  order  to  testify  its  respect  and  gi-ati- 
tude  to  England — which,  under  the  guidance  of  George 
Canning^  had  shortly  before  taken  a  PhOhellenic  turn — 
the  Greek  government  appointed  the  two  English  Phil- 
hellenes,  Cochrane  and  Churchy  commanders — the  fonner 
admiral  of  the  fleet,  and  the  latter  commander-in-chief  of 
the  land  forces.     Both  proceeded  to  Phaleron,  whither 


\\ 


i 


188 


HISTORY   OF  GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


189 


a  Greek  fleet  also  was  sent,  in  which  the  aged  Miaulia 
readily  placed  himself  under  the  command  of  Oochi^ane. 
Cochrane  wished  at  once  to  storm  the  Turkish  entrench- 
ments, and  to  make  an  attack  upon  the  whole  force  of 
Reshid.     His  example  carried  away  a  great  number  of 
the  Greek  chiefs;  but  the  calm  and  thoughtful  Karaiskakis, 
who  knew  the  character  of  his  enemies  better,  and  had  for 
the  last  twelve  months  made  every  preparation  to  secure 
success,  was  determined  to  gain  possession  of  a  few  more 
strong  pomts,  and  not  to  leave  anything  to  chance.     His 
great  plan,  as  already  remarked,  was  to  harass  the  enemy, 
to  surroujid  them,  and  thus  gradually  to  destroy  them. 
Ihe  Greeks  continued  to  advance  slowly  from  Phaleron, 
and  Reshid  began  to  see  that  he  was  being  surrounded,' 
and  that  soon  he  would  have  no  means  of  obtaining  pro- 
visions and  ammunition ;  when  all  at  once  some  Hydriots 
and  Kretans,   carried  away  by  impatience,  contrary  to 
the   orders  of  Karaiskakis,  made  an  attack  upon  the 
lurkish  fortifications  on  the  river  Ilissos.     They  carried 
with  them  a  portion  of  the  right  wing,  but  Reshid  sur- 
rounded them  in  the  plain  with  his  cavalry,  where  some 
of  them  were  cut  to  pieces,  while  the  remainder  escaped 
with  difficulty.     Karaiskakis,  who  was  ill  in  his  tent, 
rose  up  and  flew  into  the  melee,  to  save  the  fugitives  and 
prevent  a  general  engagement.      But  he  was  mortally 
wounded,   and,   feeling  the   approach   of  death,  recom- 
mended his  adjutants  to  carry  out  his  own  plan  as  the 
only  means  of  saving  Greece.     Cochrane,  now  freed  from 
the  control  of  Karaiskakis,  at  once  ordered  the  whole  of 
his   right  wing   to   advance   against   the  enemy.      The 
Greeks,  led  by  a  commander  who  did  not  know  them, 

rushed  on  with  gi-eat  vehemence,  but  without  order- 
While  the  centre  and  the  left  wing,  having  received  no 
ordei-s,  remamed  immovable.  When,  therefore,  they 
were  surrounded  in  the  plain  by  the  numerous  Turkish 
cavalry  and  artillery,  they  suffered  a  more  temble  defeat 
tlian  any  that  had  yet  been  sustained.  Fifteen  hundred 
dead  covered  the  field  of  battle,  and  nearly  all  the  Suliots 
hml  fallen  with   their  chiefs.     Drakos,  a  bmve  Suliot 


chief,  was  wounded,  and  on  being  taken  before  Reshid, 
he  broke  his  fetters,  and  plunged  a  dagger  into  his  own 
heart.  Cochrane  and  Church  escaped  to  the  fleet.  The 
former  sailed  to  Hydra,  while  the  latter  remained  in 
Phaleron,  with  2000  men,  who,  however,  being  hard 
pressed  by  the  Turks,  were  at  last  obliged  to  depart. 
Nine  days  later  the  akropolis  also  surrendered. 

The  brilliant  expectations  which  the  Greeks  had  enter- 
tained of  the  operations  of  Karaiskakis,  and  the  anticipated 
annihilation  of  Reshid,  were  at  once  dispersed  by  the 
news  of  the  death  of  Karaiskakis,  and  by  the  destruction 
of  the  finest  army.  Greece  was  in  despair,  and  its  situa- 
tion terrible.  The  whole  of  continental  Greece  was  now 
in  the  hands  of  the  Turks.  Ibrahim,  who  had  received 
large  reinforcements  from  Egypt,  again  began  to  ravage 
Peloponnesus  in  the  most  fearful  maimer,  having  been 
appointed  by  the  sultan  governor  of  the  peninsula.  His 
object  was  to  extirpate  the  whole  of  the  Greek  popula- 
tion, and  to  people  the  country  with  Egyptians  and 
Ambs.  Thousands  of  captured  men  and  women  were 
sent  as  slaves  into  Egypt. 

Such  was  the  state  of  Greece,  when,  fortunately,  a 
great  change  took  place  in  the  views  of  the  gi^eat  Euro- 
pean powers  in  regard  to  it  Dimng  the  first  yeai-s  of 
the  revolution  their  governments  had  looked  upon  the 
Greeks  as  perjured  rebels  against  their  legitimate  sove- 
reign ;  and  the  Austrian  government,  in  particular,  openly 
sided  with  the  Turks.  But  after  1825  the  heroism  and 
martyrdom  of  the  Greeks,  and  especially  the  fall  of  Mes- 
solonghi,  and  the  horrors  accompanying  it,  called  foHh  a 
cry  of  indignation  all  over  Euroi^e.  The  most  eminent 
poets,  orators,  philosophei-s,  and  divines,  especially  in 
France,  stirred  up  public  opinion.  Many  enthusiastic 
men,  from  all  parts  of  Christian  Europe,  went  to  Greece, 
to  share  its  sufferings  or  assist  in  its  liberation.  They 
are  generally  known  by  the  name  of  FhilMlenes — that 
is,  friends  of  Greece.  In  England  many  of  the  leading 
men  stigmatised  the  policy  of  the  government  as  unworthy 
of  their  country.    In  the  year  1 825  George  Canning  charao- 


I 


I 


« 


190 


HISTORY   OP   GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


terised  it  as  a  monstrosity  and  a  disgrace.   He  at  once  recog- 
nised the  Greeks  as  belligerents,  and  endeavoured,  though 
in  vain,  through  the  mediation  of  Sir  Stratford  Canning 
in  Constantinople,  to  induce  the  Turks  to  gi-ant  a  tnice. 
Russia  and  France,  however,  were  made  to  sign  at  London, 
on  the  6th  of  July  1827,  a  protocol,  in  which  it  was 
agreed  that,  if  the  Turkish  government,  within  a  month, 
did  not  consent  to  a  truce,  the  tliree  great  powers  would 
officially  recognise  the  independence  of  Greece,  and  com- 
pel Turkey  to  observe  the  truce.     In  addition  to  this, 
the  three  governments  sent  their  fleets  to  Peloponnesus, 
with  the  special  object  to  stop  the  inhuman  proceedings 
of  Ibrahim.     The  three  fleets,  commanded  by  Admii-al 
Edward  Codrington,  entered  the  harbour  of  Pyhs  {Nava- 
rino),  where  the  whole  Egyptian  and  Turkish  fleet  was 
lying  at  anchor.     When  the  Egyptians  fired  at  the  Eng- 
lish ships,  Codrington  gave  the  signal  for  that  memorable 
and  glorious  battle,  in  which  the  allied  fleet  destroyed 
nearly  the  whole  armada  of  the  Turks  and  Egyptians, 
and  killed  6000  men.     That  battle  saved  the  honour  of 
the  Christian  and  civilised  nations,  who  by  their  indifier- 
ence  had  so  long  been  the  accomplices  of  the  Turks.     As 
the  latter,  even  after  that  battle,  refused  to  grant  an 
armistice,  the  Greeks  at  once  continued  the  war.    Chui-ch, 
the  commander-in-chief,  in  November  sailed  to  Akamania, 
whither  Kostas  Bozzaris  likewise  proceeded,  hoping  to 
retake  Messolonghi,  which  was  blockaded  on  the  sea  side 
by  the  English  Philhellene,  Hastings,  who  took  the  small 
island  of  Vasiladion.     This  brave  and  modest  sailor,  who 
had  devoted  his  life  and  property  to  the  service  of  Greece, 
after  many  and  successful  skirmishes  was  killed  before 
Messolonghi  in  June  1828. 

Meanwhile,  about  the  middle  of  January  1828,  Joannes 
Kapodistrias,  whom  the  Greek  National  Assembly  at 
TroGzen  had  appointed  governor  of  Greece,  proceeded  to 
the  island  of  -^gina,  for  the  purpose  of  centralising  and 
organising  the  government.  Kapodistrias,  a  native  of 
Kerkyra  (Korfu),  who  had  lived  much  in  Russia  and 

Switzerland,  was  patriotic,  honest,  industrious,  and  prac- 


191 


iiftil,  and  at  once  introduced  economy  and  order  in  poli- 
tical and  military  afiairs.  Church,  and  especially  Ypsi- 
lantis,  in  September  1829,  completely  defeated  a  Turkish 
army  of  7000  men,  whereby  continental  Greece  was 
almost  entirely  freed  from  the  Turks ;  and  at  the  same 
time  a  French  army  of  14,000  men,  imder  General  liaison, 
sent  by  Charles  X.  to  Peloponnesus,  at  length  compelled 
Ibrahim  Pasha,  who  had  already  slaughtered  or  sold  one- 
fourth  of  the  population,  to  embark  and  return  to  Alex- 
andi-ia  (4th  and  5th  of  October).  The  Turks  were  thus 
driven  out  of  Greece. 

Kapodistrias,  who  in  the  meantime  continued  to  reor- 
ganise the  country,  entirely  mistook  the  national  character 
of  the  people,  and,  misled  by  the  injudicious  advice  of  his 
friends,  allowed  himself  to  be  induced  to  adopt  several 
illegal  and  despotic  measures.  This  and  foreign  intrigues 
brought  about  his  much  lamented  death,  on  the  9th  of 
October  1831.  Greece  was  of  course  still  in  a  very  un- 
settled state,  and  after  many  endeavours  of  the  three 
powei-s  to  establish  a  monarchy  and  to  select  a  king,  the 
kingdom  of  Greece  was  at  length  recognised  by  the  treaty 
of  London,  on  the  7th  of  May  1832,  and  Otho,  son  of  the 
enthusiastic  Philhellene,  Louis,  king  of  Bavaria,  was 
chosen  king.  This  choice  was  approved  by  the  National 
Assembly  of  the  Greeks  on  the  8th  of  August,  and  Turkey 
was  obliged  to  acquiesce  in  it. 

Of  all  the  Greek  countries  which  for  a  period  of  eight 
years  had  done  and  sufiered  everything  to  gain  their 
freedom,  only  the  part  south  of  the  Gulfs  of  Pagasae  and 
Amprakia,  down  to  Cape  Tsenaron,  obtained  its  in- 
dependence. Eubcea,  with  the  surrounding  islands,  and 
the  Kyklades,  were  likewise  incorporated  with  free 
Greece ;  but  Epiros  and  Suli,  Thessaly  and  Macedonia, 
which  had  done  and  sufiered  so  much,  and  Krete  (Can- 
dia),  were  compelled  by  that  treaty  again  to  submit  to 
the  brutal  tyranny  and  the  revengeful  spirit  of  the 
Turks.  ^ 

Thus  ended  the  Greek  revolution,  and  history  must 
acknowledge  that  during  the  war  of  liberation  the  Greeks 


192 


HISTORY    OF    GREECE. 


HISTORY   OF   GREECE. 


193 


Lad   displayed   a   heroism   and  a  readiness   to  sacrifice 
everything,  which  has  no  parallel  in  history. 

King  Otho,  who  arrived  in  Greece  on  the  6th  of  Febm- 
ary,  was  what  is  commonly  called  a  good,  mild,  and  indus- 
trious man ;  but  he  was  stupid,  self-willed,  and  a  fanatic 
Roman  Catholic.    He  was  moreover  jealous  of  every  kind 
of  national  independence,  and  dreaded  every  independent 
character,  whom  he  looked  upon  as  dangerous  and  offensive 
to  his  own  majesty.      He  always  allowed  himself  to  be 
guided  by  the  sinister  influence  of  Austria.     Although  he 
had  promised  to  comply  with  the  wish  of  the  nation,  ex- 
pressed by  its  National  Assemblies,  to  give  the  country  a 
constitution,  he  never  fulfilled  his  promise ;  and  it  was 
only  after  many  fruitless  attempts,  that  at  last,  on  the  15th 
of  December  1843,  he  was  forced  to  gi-ant  a  constitution. 
But  although  he  took  his  oath  to  observe  it,  he  continu- 
ally violated  it,  and  allowed  himself  to  be  guided  by  the  in- 
trigues of  a  petty  and  unworthy  camarilla.    Greece  became 
the  scene  of  continual  internal  disturbances  and  diplomatic 
intrigues.     At  length,  after  a  national  effort,  which  was 
stifled  in  blood,  Otho  was  expelled,  in  a  unanimous  risin^r 
of  the  Greek  nation,  on  the  22d  of  October  1862.     He 
had  poisoned  the  first  growth  and  development  of  the 
people,  more  from  incapacity  than  from  evil  intentions. 

Although  during  his  reign  the  love  of  freedom  was 
stifled,  it  again  burst  forth  in  1841  in  an  insurrection  of 
the  Kretans;  but  this  was  stamped  out  by  the  combined 
forces  of  Turkey  and  Egypt.  In  1854,  Epiros  and 
Thessaly  rose  in  arms,  but  after  the  display  of  much 
braveiy,  they  were  again  forced  imder  the  Turkish  yoke, 
through  the  intercession  of  France  and  England,  which 
took  military  possession  of  Peii-ceeus. 

After  the  expulsion  of  Otho,  the  Greeks,  in  order  to 
testify  their  attachment  to  constitutional  government  and 
their  confidence  in  England,  unanimously  selected  Prince 
Alfred  of  England  for  their  king  j  but  from  want  of  faith 
m  the  stability  of  the  coimtry,  he  declined  the  honour. 
Prince  George  of  Denmark,  who  was  then  proposed  by 
England  as  king  of  the  Greeks,  was  unanimously  ac- 


cepted by  them,  and  arrived  in  Athens  on  the  30th  of 
October  1862.  At  the  same  time,  on  the  advice  of  Mr 
Gladstone,  England  spontaneously  resigned  its  protectorate 
of  the  Ionian  Islands,  whereby  their  desire  to  be  united 
with  their  mother  country  was  realised. 

During  the  reign  of  George,  the  Zre^a7i5  again  rose  against 
the  Turks,  and  for  three  years  (from  1865  to  1868)  they 
fought  for  their  freedom,  their  religion,  and  their  honour 
against  the  forces  of  Turkey  and  Egypt.  At  Vaffe  a  body 
of  the  noblest  youths  of  Greece  fell,  fighting  bravely;  and 
in  the  monastery  of  Arkadion  1400  women,  children,  and 
old  men,  with  a  few  warriors,  blew  themselves  up,  that  they 
might  not  be  obliged  to  submit  to  the  Austrian  renegade, 
Omer  Pasha.  But  the  superior  Turkish  forces  and  the 
intervention  of  the  European  powers,  especially  of  France, 
at  length  succeeded  in  putting  down  this  revolution. 

During  the  forty  years  that  Greece  has  enjoyed  its 
independence  the  government  has  shown  itself  as  incap- 
able as  the  exertions  of  individuals  have  been  increasing 
and  enlightened.  When  the  Turks  were  expelled  from 
Greece  the  country  was  completely  exhausted  through 
the  long  protracted  struggle,  and  was  covered  with  the 
ruins  of  towns  and  villages,  and  the  population  was  more 
than  decimated.  But  in  our  days  hundreds  of  new  towns 
and  villages  have  risen  from  the  ruins,  the  population  has 
doubled,  and  the  countries  of  Messenia,  Achaia,  Elis,  and 
Korinth  are  cultivated  like  gardens.  Even  the  state  of 
continental  Greece  has  become  much  improved,  although 
the  pashas  of  Epiros  and  Thessaly  annually  throw  into 
Greece  hosts  of  wild  Turkish,  Albanese,  and  Wallachian 
robbers  through  the  narrow  mountain  passes.  The  Greek 
navy  is  flourishing,  and  displays  its  flag  in  both  hemi- 
spheres. Public  instruction  is  diffused  from  Athens,  and 
given  gratis  to  all  young  citizens  of  free  Greece ;  liberal 
education  and  culture  are  promoted  even  among  those 
Greeks  who  are  still  subject  to  Turkey,  and  the  living 
Greek  language  proclaims  to  the  world  that  at  least  a 
portion  of  ancient  Hellas,  after  an  enslavement  of  200Q 
years,  has  again  recovered  its  freedom. 


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INDEX 


I 


AnsYRTOs,  17. 
Abydos,  64;  battle  of,  93, 
Acheain  league,  134. 
Ach  leans,  26. 
Achaia,  28,  145. 
Achilles,  19,  123. 
Acilius  Glabrio,  142. 
Achmed  Kyprisli,  16(1 
Achraed  III.,  166. 
Adamantios  Koraes,  160. 

JEgina,  41,  51,  62. 

.figo8])otanii,  99. 
^iiiilius  Paulliis,  113. 
JEoU&n  colonies,  27. 
Jilolians.  26. 
.fschines,  US. 
^Ischylos,  81. 
^tolians,  137. 
Agamemnou,  19. 

Agesilaos,  105, 114. 

Agiatis,  135. 

Agis  II.,  94,  105. 

Agis  III.,  127. 

Agis  IV.,  134. 

Agyrrbios,  107 

Akarnania,  111. 

Akarnanians,  140. 

Akrokorinthoe,  133,  141. 

Aktion,  battle  of,  150. 

Alaric,  154. 

Albanese,  167. 

Aletes,  29. 

Alexander  (of  Phewe),  113. 

Alexander  the  Great,  104,  121,  126, 

Alexander  (of  Epirus),  120, « 

Alexandria,  124. 

Alfred,  Prince,  192. 

Ali,  pasha  of  Epiros,  168, 

Alkibiades,  91,  93. 

AlkniaBoiiids,  50. 

Alkaeos,  56. 

Ambracian  Gulf,  S4, 

Ammon,  124. 

Amphiktyons,  116. 

Amphiktyony  of  Delphi,  62. 

Amphipolis,  90. 

Aniphissa,  119. 

Amphissa,  bishop  of,  172. 

Amyntas,  King  of  Macedonia,  59. 

Anabasis,  105 

Anakreon,  56. 

Anatollkon,  177. 

Anaximenes,  56. 

Andros,  island  of,  03. 

Andrutsos,  167.  * 

Anna,  sister  of  Basilios,  130, 

Antalkidas,  107. 

Antalkidas,  pence  of,  103. 

Anthropomorphism,  21, 

Antigouos,  130. 


Antigonos  Gonatas,  133. 
Antigonos  Doson,  I3S. 
Antiochos,  141. 
Autipater,  122,  127,  139, 
Antiphilos,  128. 
Antiphon,  96. 
Antony,  150. 
Aphrodite,  19. 
AiK)llo,  22. 
Aratos,  134, 136,  137. 
Archelaos,  115. 

Archidainos,  S5. 
Archilochos,  66. 
Archon,  40. 
Areiopagos,  45,  77. 
Arginusae.  battle  of,  99. 
Argives,  91. 
Argo,  16. 

Argonauts,  expedition  of,  16, 
Argos,  35,  36,  73,  91. 
Ariadne,  15. 
Aristagoras.  59,  60. 
Aristides,  65,  70,  73. 
Aristobulos,  123. 
Aristodemos  (Messenian),  35, 
Aristogeiton,  48. 
Aristomenes,  37. 
Aristophanes,  82. 
Aristotle,  121. 
Arkadia,  27,  113. 
Arkadion,  193.  ^ 

Artaphernes,  60. 
Artaxerxes,  74. 
Artaxerxes  II.,  104. 
Artaxerxes  III.,  115. 
Artemision,  66. 
Aryan  family,  11. 
Asia  Minor,  107. 
Asiatic  Greeks,  58. 
Aspendos,  107. 
Athenian  Confederacy,  73, 
Athens,  39;  goveniment,  40;  1)e8leged 
by  the  Dorians,   42;    visited    by 
Epimenides  of  Krete,  43;  division 
of  its  citizens  by  Solon  into  four 
classes,  44;  council  of  four  hun- 
dred, 45;  foundation  of  its  navy, 
45;   popular  assembly,  49;  aban- 
doned by  its  inhabitaiito,  67;  taken 
by  Xerxes,  68;  its  restoration,  71; 
concludes  a  truce  with  Sparta  for 
thirty  years,  79;   oligarchy  est*- 
blished  at,  101 ;  re-establishment  of 
democracy,  103;  besieged  by  Philip 
v.,  140;  under  the  Romans,  148. 
Athos,  Mount,  62,  64. 
Attalos,  120. 
Attalos  (King),  I4a 
Attic  art  and  literature,  104, 
Attika,  45,  50,  S6. 


nn)EX. 


196 

Babylon,  124, 120. 

Bactra,  124. 
Barsine,  126. 
Basilios,  156, 157. 
Basilica  II.,  156.  ' 

Beaufort,  Duke  of,  ICO. 
BelisariuB,  155, 
Bessarion,  160, 
Bes8U8,  124. 
Boeotia,  67. 
Bosctians,  27. 
Bozzaris  Notis,  18t. 
Bozzaris  Kostas,  190, 
Brasidas,  89. 
Brutus,  150. 
Byi-on,  Lord.  177. 
Byzantium,  72,  98, 156. 

Cjbsar,  Julius,  140. 

Caligula,  150. 
Carobixnian  Mountnins,  ». 
Canning,  George,  187. 
Cassius,  150. 
Chabrias,  111. 
Chwroneia,  battle  of,  113, 
Chalkedon,  98. 
Chalkidike,  89. 

Chalkis,  141. 
Chalkokondylas,  160. 
Chares,  115. 
Chios,  96, 174. 

Chrysostomos,  Joannes,  107. 
Church,  187.  <,. 

Civilization  during  the  heroic  age,  Ji. 
Claudius,  Emperor,  152. 
Clytjemnestra,  20. 
Cochrane,  187. 

Codrington,  Edward,  190. 
Constautine  the  Great,  1^3. 
Constantino,  Palteologos,  158,  100. 
Constantinople,  160,  168, 
Constantim^polis,  153. 
Corpus,  Juiis  Civilia,  155. 

Danaos,  12. 
Darius,  59. 
Darius  II.,  124. 
Datis,  62. 
Dekeleia.  93,  04. 
Delijiannis,  172. 
Delion,  89. 
Delos,  island  of,  72. 
Delphi.  133. 

Delphi,  oracle  at,  17,  23. 
Delphians,  79. 
Demetrias,  141.  »  -«, 

Demetrios  (of  Phaleron),  131, 
Demetrios  Poliorketes,  132.  [!«, 

Demetrios,  son  of  Philip  of  Macedonia, 
Demochares,  132. 
Demosthenes  (general),  88,  94,  OS- 
Demosthenes  (orator),  117.  l-'f.  i-»* 
Denmark,  Prince  George  of,  19^. 
Derkjliidas,  105. 


Dexippos,  151. 

Diaeos,  145. 

r)iako3,  172, 

Diana,  22. 

Dikaios,  180. 

Dodona,  23. 

Don  Juan  of  Austria,  1G5, 

Dorians,  26,  27. 

Dragatzani,  171, 

Drakon,  41. 

Drakos,  188. 

Dram  Ali,  174. 

Dukas,  Joaunes,  153, 

Egbatana,  124. 
Egesta,  92. 
Esrypt,  64. 
Eira,  Mount,  37. 
Elateia,  119. 
Eleusis,  102. 

Elis.  28.  113.  .    ,   ,p« 

Elphinstone,  Admiral.  it»JJ. 
Epaminondas,  109, 112. 
Ephesus,  61,  98. 
Ephialtes,  66,  77. 
Ephors,  33. 
Epidamnians.  83. 
Epidamnos,  83. 
Epigoni,  18. 
Epirot,  111. 
Erechtheion,  180. 

Eietiians,  01. 
Eteokles,  18. 
Eubcea,  79, 164, 
Euboean.  66. 
Eudamidas,  109. 
Euuienides,  42, 

Eupatridse,  39. 
Euphrates,  124. 
Euripides,  82. 
Eurybiades,  60. 
Eurymedon,  battle  of,  <o. 
Eurymedon  (general),  91. 
Eurysthenes,  28, 
Euxine,  61. 

FaBVIER,  187. 
Flaminiiius  Quinctius,  110. 
France,  187. 

Gat-atia,  133. 

Galba  Sulpicius,  140. 

Gallienus,  152. 

Ganges,  125. 

Gaugamela,  124. 

Gaza,  124.    ^ 

Gazis,  Theodore,  i60. 

Gedrosia,  125.  ,««  im   ic"5 

Gennadios,  Georgios,  102, 171, 15>* 

Genoa,  lO;'). 

George,  King,  192, 

Georgias,  87. 

Gernianos,  Archbishop,  17^ 

Geiusia,  33. 


INDEX. 


197 


Goths,  151. 

Gi"8ecnlus,  148. 

Granikas,  battle  of  the,  123. 

Greeks,  their  art  and  literature,  10,  25; 
their  religion,  22;  war  and  navi- 
gation of  the  early  Greeks,  23; 
their  social  life,  24  ;  their  com- 
merce, 24;  their  migrations,  27; 
their  colonies,  54;  lyric  poetry,  55; 
their  national  institutions,  58  ; 
they  introduce  civilization,  167. 

Greek  conspiracy,  171.  [of,  157. 

Greek  and  Roman  Church,  separation 

Grogorios,  157. 

Gregorious,  the  Patriarch,  171. 

Guiscard,  Robert,  157, 

Guras,  173,  186. 

Gylippos,  93. 

Gythion,  112. 

Hadrian,  151. 

Haliartos,  106. 

Halikarnassos,  123, 

Hannibal,  139. 

Harmodios,  48, 

Harpalos,  127, 

Hector,  19. 

Helen,  19. 

Helena,  mother  of  Conslatitine,  153. 

Helia^,  45, 

Hellas,  26. 

Hellenes,  9. 

Hellespont,  64. 

Ilelos,  28. 

Helots,  28,  83,  76. 

Herakleitos,  56. 

nenikles«,14. 

Heraklios,  155. 

Hermes,  92. 

Herniokrates,  89,  93. 

Hesiod,  25. 

Hipparchos,  48. 

Ilippias,  son  of  Feisistratos,  47,  4S. 

Hipponax,  56.      , 

Histiseos,  59,  61. 

Homer,  19,  25. 

Hydaspes,  125, 

Hydra,  169. 

Hyperides,  129.  . 

Hyphasis,  river,  125. 

Ibrahim,  177, 191. 
Ibykos,  56. 
Iconoclasts,  155. 
Igor,  King,  156. 
Iliad,  21. 
llJyricum,  122. 
Imbros,  island  of,  103, 
Inarus,  77. 
India,  125. 
Indus,  river,  125, 
lolkos,  16. 
Ionia,  55. 
Ionian  islands,  106; 


lonians,  26.  28,  61. 
Iphikrates,  107,  111. 

Ipsos,  battle  of,  131. 

Irene,  160. 

Isagoras,  50. 

Islam,  161,  1C3. 

Ismenias,  109. 

Issos,  battle  of,  123. 

Isthmian  Games,  141, 

Ithome  Mount,  battle  of,  36,  76. 

Janissaries,  161. 

Jason,  16. 

Jason  (of  Pherae),  113. 

Jokasta,  17,  IS. 

Julian,  154. 

Justinian,  Emperor,  155. 

Kadmei,  12. 
Kadmeians,  27, 
Kadmos,  12. 
Kalaureia.  129. 
Kalchas,  23. 
Kallergis,  ICO. 
Kallikratidas,  99. 
Kallimachos,  63. 
Kallisthenes,  126. 
Kalydonian,  16. 
Kanaris  Konstantinofi,  175. 
Kapodistri.13,  Joannes,  100. 

Kapsalis,  184. 

Karaiskakis,  Georgios,  ISO,  188. 

Karanos,  114. 

Kassander,  130, 

Kastriotes,  Georgios,  158. 

Katana,  93. 

Katsonis  Larabros,  16S. 

Keadas,  38. 

Kekropia,  the  citadel  of  Alheiis,  12. 

Kelts,  133. 

Kephalenia,  111,  165. 

Kerkyra,  83,  87. 

KiUkia,  62,  123. 

Kiraon,  72,  75,  77. 

Kinadon,  105. 

Kiriakulis,  172. 

Kition,  siege  of,  79. 

Klazomense,  108, 

Kleisthenes,  49, 

Kleitos.  126. 

Kleombrotos,  111. 

Kleomenes,  135,  137, 133. 

Kleon,  87,  88,  90. 

Kleopatra,  120, 

Klephts,  163. 

Knidos,  106. 

Kodros,  29, 40. 

Kolchis,  10. 

Kolokotronis,  186, 

Kolokotronis.  Theodores,  172, 

Komnenos,  Alexis,  157. 

Konon,  99.  100. 

Korinth,  29,  65,  78,  145,  150. 

Koiiuthiaus,  SI, 


lOS 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


199 


Koroneia,  first  battle  of,  107.  • 
Koroneia,  second  battle  of,  117. 
Kosnioi,  80. 

Krannon,  battle  of,  128. 
Krateros,  128. 
Kreta,  island  of,  166, 
Krete,  15,  29. 
Kretlsa,  17. 
Kiissa,  53. 
Kiitias,  101. 
Kritolaos,  141. 

Kiojsus,  King  of  Lydia,  40,  53. 
KuiKixa,  battle  of,  104.^ 
Kuntuiiotis  Lazavo3, 173. 
Kydnos,  123. 
KvkJades  71,  191. 

Kylou,  41.  ,    ,,„ 

Kynoskephalje,   first   battle  of,    113 ; 
second  battle  of,  110. 

Kyprvis,  165. 

Kyiene,  128. 

KyiOT,  58,  08. 

Kyros,  brother  of  Artaxerxcs,  101. 

Kytheia,  36,  107. 

Kytinion,  119. 

Kyzikos.  battle  of,  98. 

Labarum,  The,  153. 
Labdakos,  King  of  Thebes,  17. 
Laios,  17. 
Lakedeemonians,  86,  83. 

Lakonia,  28,  76. 
Lamachos,  92,  93. 
Lamia,  128. 
Laniiau  War,  129, 
Laiupsakos,  99. 
Larissa,  168. 
Laskaris,  John,  160. 
Laakarifl,  Theodores,  153 
Laiirion,  65. 
Lech  aeon,  107. 
Lemnos,  80,  108. 
Ijco,  Emperor,  155. 
Leocharcs,  132. 
Leonid.ts,  06. 
Leonidas  II.,  135. 
Leonnatos,  123 
Leontiue,  87. 
Lsostlieiies,  128, 

Leotyohidea,  71. 

Lesbos,  island  of,  87. 

Leukopetra,  battle  of,  145. 

Leukosia,  165. 

Leuktra,  battle  of.  111. 

Lokris,  85,  119. 

Lontos,  172. 

Lydia,  kingdom  of,  53. 

Lydians,  59. 

Lykophron,  116. 

Lykortas,  142. 

Lykurgos,  31,  32,  46.  ,     ,„<, 

Lykurgos,  sole  King  of  Sparta,  139. 

Lysander,  98,  99,  102, 

L/«imachoa,  133. 


Macedonia,  kingdom  of,  114. 
Macedonians,  144. 
Machanidas.  140. 
Machmiid  II.,  171. 
Mseander,  105. 
Magna  Gnecia,  55, 
Mahomed,  155. 
Mahomed  II.,  159. 
Maina,  167. 
Maison,  General,  191. 

Malta,  165. 

Mantineia,  first  battle  of,  91 :  second 
battle  of,  113:  third  b;vttle  of,  liO 
Marathon,  47;  battle  of,  03, 
Mardonius,  62,  70. 
Markos  Bozzaris,  176. 
Markos,  181.  ^  l^'^- 

Maurokordatos,  Alexander.  16* ,  1«j, 
Maurokordatos,  Nicholas,  167. 
Mauroniiclialis,  Johannes,  172. 
Mauroniichalis,  Petros,  172. 
Maiironiichalis,  Kyreakulis,  176. 
Maxentius,  153. 
Medeia,  17. 
Megakles,  42,  46. 

Megalopolis,  112;  battle  of,  127, 145. 
Megara,  79,  85. 
Megarians,  42. 

Meheniet,  Pjisha  of  Egypt,  177. 

Meleagros,  16. 

Meletios,  1G3. 

Melos,  91. 

Memnon.  123,  127. 

Memphis,  77. 

Mendaros,  97. 

Menelaos,  King  of  Sparta,  19. 

Mesembria,  61. 

Messana,  38. 

Messene,  112. 

Messenia,  35,  112,  180. 

Messenian  War,  First,  35 ;  second,  o7 

third,  76. 
Messenians,  76,  142. 
Messolonghi,  176,  183. 
Metelliis  Csecilins,  144,  145. 
Miaulis,  Andreas,  174,  178,  183. 
Miltiades,  03. 
ilimnernios,  56. 
Aliiios,  King  of  Krete,  15. 
Minotaur,  15. 
Minyans,  27. 
Mithradates,  149. 
Mitylene,  87. 
Morosini,  166. 
Muuimius,  L.,  145, 
Munychia,  129.. 
Murat,  158. 

Museum  (Athens),  134. 
Mussuros,  160. 
]\Iykale,  battle  of,  71. 
Mykale,  Mount,  178. 
Mykenre,  25. 

Myronides,  78.  „    .  j   ,. 

Mythical  or  Legendary  Teiiod,  14, 


Nabts,  140. 
Narses,  155. 
Naupaktos,  76, 165; 
Nauplia,  175. 
Navarino,  battle  of,  100. 
Navarre,  Duke  of,  166. 
Naxos,  Island  of,  16,  49,  75. 
Nearchos,  125. 
Nemea,  100. 
Neptune,  22. 
Nicolaus,  Pope,  157. 
Niketas,  174. 
Nikias,  90,  92,  95. 
Nikolaos,  St.,  178. 
Normanu,  175. 

Octavianus,  150. 
Odysseus,  20, 173. 
Otiyssey,  21. 

(Edipus,  son  of  Laios,  17. 
Olga,  Queen,  156. 
Olympia,  53. 
Olympic  Games,  53. 
Olympus,  Mount,  21, 
Olynthos,  109,  117, 
Omer  Pasha,  193. 
Onomai-chos,  116, 
Orloff,  107. 
Orojws,  144. 
Ostracism,  49. 
Otho,  King,  191. 
Ourkhau,  158. 
Oxylos,  28. 

Paches,  87. 

Palaeolargos,  Michael,  153, 

Palestine,  124. 

Panathensea,  16,  48. 

Parga,  168. 

Parmenion,  120. 

Parnassus,  Mount,  26,  67. 

Parthenon,  81,  164,  160. 

Patriarch,  the,  162. 

Patroklos,  19. 

Paul,  the  apostle,  152. 

Pausanias,  69,  72,  73. 

Pausanias,  King,  102. 

PeineeuB,  72,  100 ;  battle  of,  102. 

Peisander,  96. 

Peisistratos,  46,  49, 

Pelasgians,  9,  21. 

Pelias,  16. 

Pella,  120, 130. 

Pelopidas,  109, 113. 

Peloponnesian  War,  83, 100. 

Peloponnesus,  12,  27,  67,  112, 164. 

Pelops,  12. 

Perdikkaa,  84,  89. 

Perdikkas  (general  of  Alexander  the 

Great),  126,  130. 
Perikles.  77,  80,  82,  86,  104, 
Perinthos,  118. 
Peraepolin.  124. 
perse  us,  i^ 


Persian  Monarchy,  58. 
Persian  Women,  126. 
Phaleron,  68, 
Phalockos,  117. 
Pharnabazus,  97, 106. 
Pharsalos,  battle  of,  149. 
Phayllos,  116. 
Pheidias,  82. 
Pheidon,  King,  36. 
Pherae,  113. 
Philhellenes,  189. 
Philip  (of  Macedonia),  109. 
Philip  (son  of  Amyutas),  115. 
Philip  v.,  138. 
Philippi,  battle  of,  150. 
Pliilippopolis,  168. 
Fhilomelos,  116. 
Philopoemen,  140,  141. 
Philotas,  126. 
Phoebidiis,  109,  110. 
Phoenicia,  124. 
Phokas  Nikephoros,  150. 
Phokians,  65,  79, 116, 
Phokion,  119,  131. 
Phokis,  85. 
Phormion,  86. 
Photios,  157. 
Phramagusta,  165. 
Phrynichos  (dramatist),  81. 

Phrynichos  (general),  06. 

Phyhe,  102. 

Pindar,  55. 

Piracy  24. 

Platsese,  65  ;  battle  o^  70,  SG. 

Platajans,  63,  86. 

Plato,  104. 

Pleistarchos,  70. 

Polemarchos,  41. 

Polybios,  142, 143. 

Poly  bos,  17. 

Polyneikes,  18. 

Polysperclion,  13L 

Pompey,  149. 

Porus,  125. 

Poseidon,  129. 

Potidsea,  84,  86, 109. 

Primates,  162. 

Prokles.  28. 

Propyloae,  81. 

Prusias,  King,  139. 

Psara,  169. 
Ptolemy,  123,  131. 
Ptolemy  Keraunos,  133. 
Pydna,  battie  of,  143. 
Pylos,  88. 
Pyrrhus,  133. 

Pythagoras,  66, 

Reshid  Mechmet  Pasha,  18L 
Revolution  of  Greeks,  170. 
Rhegium,  38,  92. 
Rhodos  (island),  165, 
Rigas  Pherceiw,  169. 
ilobcit  11.,  king  of  Sicily,  157» 


\ 


200 


INDEX. 


Romans,  139. 

Roriina,  124.  ^  .^  .  ,  ,«* 
Russia.  Empress  Catherine  of,  16«. 
Ilubsiaus,  1C7. 

Sachtubis,  Georgios,  ITS. 
Siicred  War,  116. 
Sages,  the  seven,  56. 
S:>lanii9,  island  of,  42. 
Balaraia,  battle  of,  03, 
Kaniiaiis.  71. 
bianios,  80,  97,  120. 
Buiicta  Laura,  172. 
S:vpitho,  50. 
Sardes,  CO,  61. 
bcythians,  59. 
Sekkon,  171. 
h^elim,  165. 
ticljnu3,  92. 

Hellasia,  battle  of,  13S. 

Bostos,  CO,  71. 
fcj'rwyros,  island  of,  103. 
Blavouians,  156. 
Smyrna,  108. 
Social  War.  11  ^  130. 
Society  of  1  litutU,  170. 
S(. Urates.  90,  10 1 
Soluu,  42-40. 

bophokles,  81.  ...      **     n 

Sparta,  capital  of  Lakonia,  80:  its 
institutions  as  settled  by  Lyk>»r- 
uos  31;  at  war  with  Athens,  «8; 
ut  war  with  Thebes,  111 :  taken 
by  ruilopojinen,  141 ;  under  the 
llomans,  148. 

Spartans,  33,  50,  103. 

Sl^etsa,  109. 

Si>liakteria,  8S,  179. 

Sphinx,  18. 

Stenyklaros,  battle  of,  o7. 
Strategfipnlos,  Alexis,  158. 
Strynion,  river,  59. 
Suliman  I.,  165. 
Sulla,  L.  Cornelius,  149. 
Bunion,  Cai)e,  C3. 
Susa,  124. 

Sybota,  81. 
Syrakuse,  87,  92. 
Syria,  132. 

Tanaora,  78. 
Tarentum,  36.    ^   „,    ^- 
Taygetos,  Mount,  Si,  .0. 
Teiresias,  23. 
Tcnedos,  175. 
Thales,  56. 

Thasians,  76. 

Thiisos,  island  of,  70. 

Theagenes,  41. 

Theban  War,  110. 

Thebaus,  80,  100. 

Thebes,  17,  70,  109,  113,  1C2. 

'Ihciiiistohles,  C5,  CS,  74. 


Theokles,  37.  ,  _       .     -a 

Theopouiix)S,  king  of  Sparta,  80. 

Therameues,  96,  99,  101. 

Thernion,  137.  ,  /.^  n/i   i^o 

Thermopylse,  battle  of,  67, 110,  14A. 

Theseus,  15,  39. 

Thesmotbetoo,  41. 

Thespiae,  65. 

Thessalians,  27. 

Thessaly,  26, 121. 

Thetis,  19. 

Thimbron,  105. 

Tbirty  tyrants,  101. 

Thrace,  59. 

Thraciau  Chersonesns,  70. 

Thrasybulos,  97,  102,  107. 

Thurii,  92. 

Thukydides,  79. 

Tigris,  124. 

Timotheos,  111. 

Tiribazus,  107. 

Tisamenos,  28. 

Tissiiphernes,  96,  105. 

Tithraustes,  100. 

Trajan,  151. 

Trapezus,  105. 

Treasure  House  of  Atreiis,  i.3, 

Trikala,  168. 

Trikorpha,  battle  of,  ISO. 

Troezen,  C7. 
Tiojan  W^ar,  19. 
Troy,  siege  of,  19. 
Tsamados,  Ilydriot,  1«J. 
Tsavelas,  168. 
Tsavelas,  Kitsos,  182. 
Turks,  158,  106. 
Tyre,  124. 
Tyrtseos,  37. 
Tzesmc,  1C3, 

Vaffe,  W3. 
Valtetsi,  172. 
Vandals,  155. 
Venetians,  157. 
Venice,  165. 
Yhidimir,  156. 


Wallachiaks,  153. 

XxNTniPPOS,  71. 
Xenophanes,  56. 
Xenophon,  104,  105. 
Xerxes,  64. 

Ypsit-antis,  Alexander,  171. 
Ypailautis,  Demetrios,  174,  ISO. 

Zaimis,  172. 

Zakynthos,  85,  165. 

Zankle,  38. 

Zeus,  22. 

Zimisces,  •'^oannes  150i 

Zyso»,  Mount,  183. 


y 


to  wit,  iSir 
iction  in  recom- 
Gicciiock  Telegraph, 


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